Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jun stares at those medicines for a long time. That "Hormonal" medicine thing bothers him so much, and the fact that these are from Dylan's room makes him question so many things.   

Why does Dylan have such medicine, which usually omegas take? Does Dylan have his own Omega?   

Jun shakes his head. Not wanting to think about it. But why Dylan having an omega bother him? It shouldn’t be right? But that doesn’t mean he won't stick his nose into it. He will. And he did.  

"Hoi Dylan" Jun pushes the door of Dylan's room.   

The ray of sun barely entering the room "the fuck he is on it again" Jun curses under his breath.   

"I don't know Nano, he is not in his room" Jun speaks ever the phone.  

"P'Jun, I need those lenses please. Look for me," Nano whines from the other side.  

"You are gonna get me killed, Nano" Jun says, walking back into Dylan's room. It's Nano who is whining to him. He can never say no to this soul, even if it means getting killed by Dylan.   

Luckily, Jun worked a little hard and found the lenses Nano wanted. Nano made Dylan buy them for him, but forgot to take those back. Now, when he needed them, Dylan is not picking up.   

Jun has the noisiest nose in the world, if you wanna say. He only went to Dylan's room to get those lenses for Nano. Now he is chuckling, laughing, seeing Dylan's collection of various things. Dylan sure has some weird, unique tastes.  

One particular box caught Jun's attention. Opening this with a little bit of debate he stares in shock for a good minute.   

A bunch of medicine packs, some are new, some are half used.   

That scared Jun to death.   

Why does Dylan need all those medicines? Is Dylan sick?   

Is he too sick that he needs that much medicine?  

Since when has he been sick?   

Why is he hiding?   

Is he dying?   

The thought of something happening to Dylan made his stomach twist and his head spin. Without thinking too much, he took pictures of them. Nosy Jun, if you say.   

It didn’t take long to get information about those medicines. Jun is so good at digging things.   

The information he found made him more restless than when he thought Dylan was dying.  

 "Hormonal" "suppressants" "omegas"   

These are highlighted names.   

Now the question is, why does an alpha need them?   

If Dylan has an omega for himself, he doesn’t need those suppressants for sure, right?  

So why?   

Maybe if it were Nano or Thame or Per to find out, they might go soft and ask Dylan about it. But It's Jun. Nothing between Jun and Dylan is soft and smooth. Jun knows Dylan would never respond to him normally.   

But his noisy nose can't stay in. Specifically, It's about Dylan.   

The weird tension between two alphas has always been there. No matter what the situation is, they would be at each other's throats for sure. Everyone gets it, too, thinking the two alphas fighting for dominance thing works for them.   

Jun had a hard time searching for Dylan. He doesn’t know the reason, but Dylan has been avoiding him weirdly for a few weeks. But busy with their schedules, Jun didn’t give it much thought.   

“Hey ,grumpy”   

Dylan glares back at the sudden nickname. “What are you doing here?” He talks.   

“Wow I didn’t know this studio is a no zone” Jun smirks, settling himself on a chair, throwing his back comfortably.   

“Get out, I'm working” Dylan puts on his headphones.   

“Everybody knows you are not listening to anything, Dylan, you are just pretending” Jun laughs, pulling down the headphones   

Dylan scoffs, slapping away Jun’s hand.   

“feisty”   

Dylan rolls his eyes and focuses on his non-existence work to pretend he is too busy to give Jun any attention.   

“I came to ask you for help” Jun carefully scans Dylan, who didn’t shift a bit. “Come on help me” Jun sits closer to Dylan and surprising his Dylan quickly steps back.   

Jun raises his brows in surprise; the hate can’t be this much.   

“I don’t bite Dylan” Jun rolls his tongue in the end, making it annoying for Dylan.   

“What do you want?” Dylan says with a nervousness in his voice.   

Jun gives a mischievous smile before pulling out his phone and showing it to Dylan “Can you tell me what these meds are?”   

And Jun watches Dylan, how his eyes got bigger, Adam's apple moves as he gulps, sweat forms at the tip of his nose. Maybe his alpha genes are making him notice such small details of Dylan.   

And there Dylan, who feels his throat getting dry, palms began to sweat, head feels heavy. It didn’t take him long to realise where Jun found this. The picture of obviously from his drawers and Jun didn’t even try to confuse him.   

With all Dylan could respond in such a question, he said “They are not mine” giving Jun another chance to chuckle. And Jun did.   

“I never said these are yours” True, he never even thought of them being Dylan’s. Dylan is an alpha. He doesn’t need heat suppressants.   

“Come on Dylan, I didn’t know you were that bad at hiding” Jun smirks, leaning toward Dylan, making their faces inch apart. He expected Dylan to shove him away or give an eye roll or maybe a punch? But Dylan falls back. Abruptly trying to create a distance between them, he moves back from the chair, causing himself to fall to the ground.   

“Hey careful” Jun says, trying to get a hold of Dylan but Dylan again, crawling backwards, trying to avoid going near of Jun, also covering his nose with his arm.   

That made Jun suspect something. He arches his brows, “Dylan?” Now Jun gulps, seeing how Dylan avoids his gaze, his eyes tearing up, covering up his nose, hands gripping his clothes as an omega affected by an alpha’s scent.   

Jun steps back. Realizations hit slowly but harshly. But Dylan is an alpha, right?   

OH.....   

Unless Dylan.....is not.   

Dylan stood fast and left the studio. Jun behind him, “Dylan” he calls.   

But Dylan didn’t respond to him. Reaching his room, he tries to shut the door behind, but Jun was fast to stop him “Hey, say something”   

“Fuck off Jun I have nothing to say” Dylan tries to push Jun away. For some obvious reason, Jun is stronger than him now.   

“What’s wrong?” Jun now looks concerned even though his mind is clouding. Hand in hand and between those pushing and pulling, Jun now holds Dylan closer by the arms, stopping him from throwing fists. Cause Dylan looks like he will break any moment, and Jun is worried about what the hell happened. Trying to ignore all thoughts but when Dylan’s scent hits his nostrils, he freezes.   

“Dylan, you smell different” He managed to say in between. It is something worth noticing, given that Dylan is alpha and Jun has never smelled anything from Dylan. Specifically, from Dylan. Some alphas have a subtle scent so it's never bothersome. But Dylan now smells different .... nicer.   

Dylan sniffs and Jun lets go of his arms. His alpha instinct suddenly wanna comfort Dylan into saying something.   

"These meds are yours, right? Why do you need them?" Jun's voice is now a lot softer. So much softer than he is with Nano or any of his flirty gang. Even though he is guessing something, he wanna hear it from Dylan.  

Dylan gives a small nod. "You know how you mocked me about how I don't smell like an alpha?" Dylan asks, glancing up.  

Jun bites his lip. He indeed teased Dylan sometimes about it.   

"Turned out I'm not so of an alpha" he says, getting some paper out of the drawer. "I think you saw them too. But decided to make fun of me again" His voice broke, throwing them in Jun's face.   

Jun stares in disbelief. A bunch of medical certificates and a medicine list around. He sat on his knees and picked some. Multiple test results, multiple lists of do to things.   

Jun was in a rush so he only focused on medicine rather than digging more in the room. Maybe his sense of giving someone privacy peaked.  

"Dylan, I'm sorry for that but I didn’t see these. Nano asked for something, and I was searching for it and I saw those I...."  

His words cut off by Dylan, "Stop it, Jun. I knew you always hated me. Now you know something worth gossiping. Why not just go around telling people rather than bothering me" Dylan says in a defeated voice. As his disbelief in himself wasn’t enough, now Jun was ruining him all over. Especially when he can smell Jun's scent more clearly than before.   

"How did these happen?" Jun asked. "Also, I'm concerned about you, Dylan" he adds, picking up pages.   

No matter how much Jun always picked on Dylan, he never wanted anything bad to happen to Dylan. Maybe a little too concerned sometimes.   

Jun poured a glass of water for Dylan and let him sit before he spoke again.   

"When I saw those meds, I got worried. Thinking you are severely sick. So I got them checked cause I know you won't tell me" Jun explains, sitting in front of him, taking a chair. "Whatever happens, we all stick together Dylan."   

Oh.. That's new. Jun is saying actual things rather than mocking him. Jun actually makes sense in a lot of aspects. But who knows why they always choose to argue over talking peacefully?   

"Remember when we almost disbanded?" Dylan finally speaks slowly. Hearing Jun, somehow made him believe that he could share things.   

Jun nods. Hearing Dylan talk.  

"I felt weird over time. Things I should not feel. I felt dizzy, my body started to change, I... I got confused. And went to the doctors. They did some tests and... Turned out I have some alpha genes but I'm actually a... " he gulps. Words stuck in his throat. But somehow he had to say "omega" he whispers the last part.   

"That's why you disappeared that time?" Jun questioned when he understood Dylan lost in words.   

Dylan nods. That's the truth.   

"My whole family mixture of alpha and omegas, so I have good genes that are almost misunderstood as Alpha, the omega genes were recessive" Dylan mumbles. As he is ashamed of saying these.   

"And you were keeping them to yourself, taking suppressants"   

"Or what do you want me to do? Going around making alphas droll over my scent and let me knot me?" Dylan raised his voice. Even if he knows he is an omega now, that doesn’t mean he will lose his personality.   

Jun felt a weird twist in his stomach. Something about some random alpha catching Dylan's scent or knotting him or maybe around him makes him wanna tear that imaginary alpha apart.   

"No" he groans. Before he realized he was boiling in anger with the thought, and he started to release his pheromones.   

"J..jun" Dylan covers his nose, inhaling an unhealthy amount of Jun's scent.   

Dylan's voice brought sense to Jun and his focus came back. Jun narrows his brows, inhaling deeply "Dylan, does my scent bother you?" he asks.  

Dylan bites his lips before nodding.   

"Is that only now or?"  

" Since I started to feel weird. Or I could say, I started to feel weird because of that," Dylan faces away.   

"And that's the reason you have been avoiding me?"   

"Oh fucks sake yes. I started to smell you suddenly, which made me feel weird and I went to the doctors. Rest, you know" Dylan covers his face using his palms.  

Dylan stares at Jun as he removes Dylan's hands from his face "So you are saying my scent triggered your hormones?"   

Dylan wanted to ignore the question or the whole existence of Jun. But he couldn’t. His mind his body betray him. He nods instead of throwing hands.   

"Can I kiss you, Dylan?" Jun gulps, leaning forward. He can smell a faint sweet fragrance coming from Dylan, more accurate than before. "I need to know something" he adds.   

Dylan nods again without breaking eye contact. And Jun leans forward and their lips crush.  

Softly, as someone touching the most fragile flower petal in the world. Jun pressed his lips to Dylan's. Carefully, attentively. His one hand cups Dylan's cheeks and the other instantly goes around his waist, pulling his body closer.   

Dylan huffs in sudden warmth. Who could he lie to when It's him been affected by Jun's scent? For once, he decided not to fight back. So he leans too. Depending on those lips, on those touches of Jun.   

After a few small pecks, Jun went for a deeper kiss. Sucking the lower lip of Dylan before the upper. A weird sensation flowed over his chest, asking for more to taste Dylan. Jun breaks the kiss for a few seconds. Letting Dylan breathe.   

Jun placed their forehead together before pulling Dylan swiftly, making him sit in his lap. Dylan yelps in action, he grips Jun's shoulder to balance. Before he could react, Jun's hand was already on his nape, angling him for another kiss.   

Dylan lets out a low moan which sucked by Jun soon. His grips around Dylan's waist tighten, making him arch his back.   

Jun paused a bit to lick Dylan's lower lip as he is asking for permission. Dylan let out a humble moan, opening his mouth, giving Jun access to his mouth.   

Maybe if it were any other day between Jun and Dylan, never in their lives would they have thought something like this could happen. But now their pheromones mingling together as their tongues battling inside each other's mouth.  

None of them fought for dominance. It is pure expression, full of wonder, new experience.   

The room filled with the sound of sloppy kisses and scents of a confident alpha and a confused omega.   

Their scents are too perfect together. Dylan's floral scents with Jun's sandalwood scents mixing, creating a grounding base with a delicate floral ambience.   

Finally, Jun let go of Dylan's lips, and his grip loosened a little. His head fell on Dylan's neck, inhaling the sweet floral smell. Dylan gasping for air, biting his lips, controlling himself not to get crazy over Jun's woody scents.  

"I better stop before I do something" Jun whispers in Dylan's neck. His breath was too hot, giving shivers down Dylan's spine.   

Dylan could only nod. Not the right word playing in his mind for now.   

When Jun looks up, he can see breathless Dylan with an open mouth. "Fuck" he curses again hiding his face in Dylan's neck. Dylan whines. Their body pressed together until both calmed down from the high.  

......................

"Isn’t it quite. Uh.." Dylan stares at himself in the mirror. Wearing the crop top stylist gave him, he took sweet time looking at himself.   

"You look so good, Phi." Nano giggles, "If you had a mate already, I'm sure they would be pretty jealous of others seeing you like that" Nano says innocently, teasing his Phi.   

Since Dylan's new identity came, Mars seems pretty okay with it. Fans accepted it, also they were looking forward to seeing Dylan bloom in a new face.   

Nano said those words too innocently to notice Jun was sitting there eyeing dangerously toward Dylan.   

Either he wanted to close the show and keep Dylan wrapped in towels or tear those clothes apart and claim Dylan.   

But he can't do any of them.   

The show ended. They all went backstage. Talking, laughing, changing clothes.   

Dylan felt a pull on his arm. Soon, he was pushed against one of the walls of the dark 'staff only' room.   

Even though he can't see the face, Dylan knows who it is. He didn’t say anything and stayed trapped between two arms. those sneakily being trapped in a close area, nothing new since that day.  

"I hate that I get jealous" Jun mumbles hoarsely, dropping his head on Dylan's shoulder. Trying to inhale Dylan's scent mixed with sweat.   

"Can I hold you?" Jun asks. "I'm feeling overwhelmed" he adds, gulping. Dylan nods.   

Jun quickly pulls Dylan's body by that exposed waist and digs his face into Dylan's neck. His obsession with Dylan's scent grew bigger from that day.   

That scent drives him crazy, makes him wanna bite Dylan, make him his mate, knot him, tie him with himself for life.   

"I hate that I can't do anything about it" Jun whispers, pressing his lips on Dylan's neck. "Your scent is getting prominent, your features changing, you're getting prettier day by day, I can barely hold myself back."  

Dylan feels his knees getting weak, smelling Jun's scent around him. It's so comforting, also intoxicating. He wraps his arms around Jun's neck "Maybe you should do something about it Junnie" Dylan says, tilting his neck, giving Jun better access to his smell.   

Jun paused and looked up at Dylan. "I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels something" Dylan bites his lip, saying.   

Jun gulps, feeling his stomach knotting inside, chest warming up.   

The weird tension between them since the very first day they met and till now is fogging up too much to keep up.   

Jun felt that.... Extra.. Whenever he looked at Dylan. Those frowning eyes, clapped lips, every expression Dylan gave, every word that escaped Dylan's mouth. He has been gaslighting himself, thinking he is just annoyed by Dylan. But more like he is affected by Dylan.   

"I think I'm getting in my heat soon" Dylan says, looking away, cheeks getting red.  

Jun removes his hands from Dylan's waist and cups his face. His eyes filled with worry, concerned over Dylan "Do you need meds now?" he asks.   

"No, Jun. I need you. As my alpha" Dylan says right there, looking at Jun, holding their eye contact.   

Dylan dares to say he heard Jun growl before claiming his lips, his body, his soul, his whole existence.   

And soon Jun's scent took over him. Jun made sure to shower Dylan with his scent, claiming every inch of him, pouring all of him into Dylan. To Dylan.   

Jun made sure Dylan knew what he was doing, he made sure to give Dylan what he wanted, biting him, marking him, knotting him as his omega. Only his.  

Chapter Text

Jun still remembers the day he found bunch of medicine in Dylan’s drawer. He is not pleased the way he found out but he can’t change it.  

He tried to be good, didn’t teased Dylan about this sensitive topic. Tried to be generous.   

But the way Dylan keeps glowing, the way Dylan was too much to ignore, creeped him.  

And he almost lost it the day Dylan asked him to be his alpha.  

Backstage. Muffled from world. Just them, need, desperation, want.  

The backstage hallway was too bright. Too cold. Too loud. At least for Dylan.  

Dylan stumbled forward, one hand gripping the wall tight, trying to keep himself straight and sane. The other clenched over his chest. His heart was beating too fast, his mouth was dry and burning. Some unknowing pain killing him from inside he doesn’t know how to name it.  

He couldn’t breathe.  

His mind asked for only one thing. One person......  

“Jun,” he whispered, eyes barely open “Where’s...where’s Jun..” He thought maybe he is calling loud. But it wasn’t even audible.   

The voice he uses to rap, uses to make thousand alphas, omega to scream for him now barely here.  

A door slammed open.  

Jun looks back from his seat, towel around his neck, still flushed from stage. His eyes landed on Dylan instantly and his entire body froze.  

“Dylan?”  

Dylan’s knees gave out.  

Jun caught him. Glad he was first enough.  

The scent hit him first.  

Dylan...Dylan didn’t just smell like Dylan anymore. He smelled ripe. He smelled omega, heavier than before. He knew Dylan used suppressants. But this...  

Jun’s growl caught in his throat, instincts flaring. The sheer need that washed over him was blinding, clawing at his chest, pulsing in his gums, making his fingers curl.   

Realisation hitting him late due to overwhelming scent of newly turned omega.  

“Shit...Dylan,” he curses, pulling them both into the dressing room, slamming the door shut. For safety, for privacy, for Dylan “What the fuck?”  

“I think I’m....your scent...Jun, I can’t....” Dylan’s voice cracked. “I took suppressants......they stopped working. I never thought....”  

Jun’s brain short-circuited.   

They stood there in silence, breathing the same air. Heat and spice tangled between them, Dylan’s scent rising fast, dizzying.  

Jun could barely think. And Dylan was trembling.  

“I don’t know what to do,” he whispered.  

Jun moved carefully, pressing Dylan back onto the small couch. “Okay. It’s okay. I’ve got you. You’re safe. We’ll figure this out.” Saying as if he is not panicking right now. As his brain isn’t screaming at him.  

But Dylan grabbed his wrist, eyes glassy. “I don’t want anything else. It’s you, Jun. It’s only you that makes it hurt less.”  

Jun froze.  

“I really need you” Dylan whispered. “Not for the cameras. Not for fans. For this. For me.”  

Jun swallowed hard. “Dylan, you don’t even know what you’re asking.”  

“I do. My body knows. It’s yours that makes it calm down. When you’re near, I don’t burn so much.” Dylan chokes in his own words.  

“Fuck......” Jun leaned his forehead against Dylan’s. “You’re not even in full heat yet, are you?”  

“No. But it’s coming.”  

Jun held him gently, hands on Dylan’s hips, grounding him. “Then we wait. You’ll come stay with me. I’ll take care of you. No matter what. But only if you want me to.”  

“I do,” Dylan breathed, eyes wide, scared and honest. “I’m just… I’m scared I’ll lose myself.”  

“Then I’ll stay with you the whole time. I’ll keep you safe. I’ll remind you who you are.”  

“And if I ask you to knot me?” Dylan’s voice cracked. “Will you- will you still look at me the same after?”  

Jun felt the pull in his chest. Something clenching hard and leaving. Cause Dylan doesn’t sound like that mouthful, cocky Dylan. It more of a desperation to know, to hold. Jun cupped his face. “I’ll never stop looking at you.”  

Jun pulled Dylan closer to him. Letting his scent consume Dylan. Letting Dylan sniffs him as much as he wants without making fun of him, without teasing him.  

They sat on the floor of a cramped dressing room, hearts racing, hands intertwined, Dylan resting against Jun’s shoulder while Jun breathed through the growing ache in his bones.  

It wasn’t heat yet.  

But it was the beginning.  

The group house had never felt so loud in its silence.  

Dylan was in their shared bedroom, curled on his bed with headphones on and the hood of his sweatshirt pulled over his face, clearly trying to pretend everything was normal.  

But the air in the hallway told another story.  

His scent had changed.  

It wasn’t just the trace sweetness Jun had noticed after performances, the kind that made him feel drunk and reverent.  

Now it was thick.  

Ripe with tension. Sweet like ripe fruit left out too long in the sun. It clung to the corners of the room, sank into Jun’s clothes, haunted his lungs.  

And Jun, who’d been careful, so careful was starting to feel it twist under his skin.  

His wolf, his alpha, was getting louder by the hour.  

Not for just any omega.  

For Dylan.  

Most of the house had settled down. Nano was curled up on the couch, legs thrown over Pepper’s lap while the older alpha absently carded fingers through his hair, both absorbed in a show. It felt… domestic. Calming.  

Jun paced lightly down the hallway and paused outside his own bedroom door, where Dylan had shut himself in hours ago after dinner. He hadn't said much.   

Just a muttered “Tired.” But Jun had caught the flush on his cheeks, the slight tremble in his fingertips, and the way Dylan avoided meeting his eyes.  

Jun’s fingers curled around the doorknob before he changed his mind. He let go quietly, turned and headed toward the kitchen where Thame was wiping down the counter. Thame looked up, sensing something in Jun's quiet.  

“You, okay?” he asked.  

Jun hesitated, then came in, leaning against the counter with seriousness.  

“I need to ask you something,” Jun said. “About… omega stuff.”  

Thame blinked, surprised. “Nano?”  

“Nano? We have new omega here Thame. I mean Dylan.” Jun huffs.  

“Sorry. I’m processing it.” Thame wipes his hands and focuses back to Jun.  

The silence grew for a second.  

Jun glanced at the wall, then down at his own hands. “His heat is about to hit. And I know he’s trying to keep it together. But he’s scared. And stubborn as hell.”  

Thame gave a soft chuckle. “That’s accurate.”  

“I don’t want to mess this up” Jun said finally, voice tight. “It’s everything for an omega, right? And I know I joke a lot, but I… I care about him. He trusted me to help. I want to do it right.”  

“You both talked right?” Thame asks. He needed to know this information at least.  

“Yeah” He nods. “We will go to my apartment. I will send mails to Per about us taking small break”  

Thame nods in understanding. “Have you talked to Nano?”  

Jun nodded. “He gave me a whole list. Nesting materials. Keep scents familiar. Listen to what asked, but not to overdo. Light food, lots of water. Don't crowd. Keep the room dim. Don’t let anyone else nearby. He said Pepper made everything warm and safe and stayed up the whole night, even when Nano yelled at him, cried, nagged.”  

Thame smiled. “Yeah, that sounds like Pepper.”  

Jun looked away. “I’m not like Pepper.”  

“No. You’re you,” Thame said gently placing his hand on Jun’s shoulder “And Dylan chose to be with you. Not anyone else.”  

Jun took a breath. “He hasn’t said it. But he’s hurting. He keeps curling up under my hoodies when he thinks I’m sleeping. He even took my t-shirt from the closet. I pretended not to see. I don’t wanna embarrassed him.”  

“That was smart.”  

“I just… What else can I do? I want him to feel safe.”  

Thame looked at Jun with genuine smile. “You already are doing it, Jun. Just be consistent. Gentle. Stay close. Let him lead. You don’t have to fix anything. Just be there.”  

Jun’s throat tightened.  

Jun laughed under his breath. “I don’t even know what to do . How to help. What if I make it worse? What if I hurt him...”  

“You won’t.”  

“I’ve never taken care of someone in heat. I’ve barely taken care of myself.”  

Nano joined. “That’s how P’Per looked before our first time. He paced so much he wore a hole in the rug.”  

Jun exhaled. “How did you know what you needed?”  

“I didn’t,” Nano said gently. “But he stayed. Listened. Smelled like safety. And made space for every messy, clingy, horny, weepy version of me.”  

Jun bit his lip. “But what if I touch too soon? Or not enough? Or he doesn’t want the nest I will made or wants something rough or...”  

“Breathe,” Nano said, pressing a hand to his chest. “Phi, this isn’t about getting it ‘right.’ It’s about being there. He already chose you. That means more than anything.”  

Jun stared at the floor, swallowed hard. “Yeah. Thanks.”  

The scent of a heat that hadn’t broken yet but was close. Close enough to make Jun’s gums ache and his wolf restless. Not about how he wants to claim the omega more like his instinct telling him his omega hurting, though Dylan is not his yet.  

Jun sat on his bed, fingers clenched around the hem of his shirt, pretending to scroll through his phone.  

Across the room, Dylan lay curled on his side, facing the wall. He was breathing too carefully. His oversized sweatshirt was slipping off one shoulder, revealing the dip of his spine as he shifts.  

“Jun.”  

Jun glances up.  

Dylan’s voice was rough. Thin. Honest in a way that made Jun look up instantly.  

Dylan turned to face him slowly, eyes bloodshot and wet. Not from crying but from exhaustion. “I still feel like myself,” Dylan whispered. “For now. I don’t know how long it’ll last.”  

Jun stood carefully. “What do you want me to do, Dylan? Just name it.”  

“I want you to touch me.”  

Jun’s breath caught.  

“Not when I’m desperate. Not when I’m not myself” Dylan murmured. “Now. While I can still… choose. I can still think and still want you”  

Jun walked over slowly, kneeling beside the bed. “You’re sure?”  

Dylan reached for him. “Please.”  

Jun climbed onto the bed gently, curling behind Dylan, arms sliding around his waist. Dylan pressed back into him with a shaky exhale.  

“You are warm” Jun whispered, nuzzling behind his ear. “You’re so warm Dylan.”  

Dylan only shivered. “I want you to see me like this. Before I’m not me anymore.”  

Jun kissed the back of his neck “I’ve got you.” He whispers lower than ever. But made sure Dylan heard him.  

He started slow.  

Jun eased Dylan’s hood up, fingers brushing over his ribs, mapping every dip and tremble of his skin. Dylan arched into the touch with a soft whine, already slick at the base of his spine, scent rolling slowly around the room.  

Jun whispered praise into his shoulder. “You smell so good.” He gulps. As trying not to dive into. “So sweet. I could drown in you.”  

Dylan’s thighs pressed together instinctively.  

Jun held him. Took his own shirt off and presses their naked body together. Warmth from Dylan’s body and the mild temperature from Jun’s skin brushes together.  

Dylan hums scooping back. It feels good to his skin.  

Jun carefully traces along Dylan’s skin. Not too much, not less. Just there, just making a presence.   

His lips trail soft kisses along Dylan’s shoulder. Carefully not touching the scent gland.   

Tip of his finger brushes near to one of Dylan’s sensitive nipples. Dylan whimpers gripping Jun’s wrist. Next touch made his hip buckles.  

Jun rests himself between Dylan’s legs caging him.  

Dylan’s eyes teary, lips trembling. Jun leans down and peck on his neck, down to the chest, tip of the nipples, between the gaps. Not some crazy lick or bite. Just there, enough to make a statement.   

“J..jun”   

He tugged at the waistband of Dylan’s boxers, looking for permission.  

Dylan nodded shakily.  

Jun stripped them down.  

Dylan was trembling now, knees drawn up, slick dripping from between his cheeks, ruining the sheets.   

Jun stares in awe.  

It’s Dylan.  

So open, so ready front of him. He is not even in heat but the mild slick, scent everything glowing.  

Dylan tries to close his legs. Maybe shy or embarrassed.  

Jun gently stops him “Let me” he says in his softest voice. Caresses Dylan’s ankle and gives a soft peck on it. Dylan watches Jun move. So patiently, so delicately.  

Jun stroked his back slowly, then slid two fingers between his thighs.  

“Can I?”  

Dylan nodded again. “Jun, please...”  

Jun spread the slick gently, dipping a finger inward, slow and shallow, just to get him prepare of the feeling.   

Dylan let out a soft, cracked moan, hips twitching.  

Jun kissed down his thigh. “You’re so pretty Dylan” he murmured, voice rasping with restraint. “So perfect”  

He licked a long, slow stripe through the mess, tongue catching on Dylan’s rim.  

Dylan gasped, back arching. “Jun....!”  

“I want to taste all of you,” Jun whispered. “Before your mind goes cloudy. I want you to remember this part. Can I?”  

Jun asks as he didn’t just ruined Dylan with his eyes.  

Dylan choked on a sob, hand fisting the sheets, nods.  

Jun presses his tongue around and pushes a little. Dylan whines from it.  

Jun pushed his tongue deeper, slow and firm spread Dylan open, wet and eager. When the first taste hits Jun, he feels dizzy from it.  

The omega slick, omega that want him despite all those histories they have, omega that is Dylan, the Dylan.  

 He mouthed at the heat, the slick, the source, like he was praying.  

“You’re so wet already,” Jun murmured, “and this isn’t even your heat yet.”  

Dylan whimpered, grinding helplessly back. “More. Please.”  

Jun kissed between his cheeks one last time before slowly pressing in a finger, curling gently. Dylan moaned, shuddering hard. It went inside the slick coded hole without much difficulty.  

Jun moved with care, stroking, coaxing, learning his body while Dylan panted and melted beneath him. The room smelled like heat and pine and wanting.  

Then Dylan rolled his hip, eyes glassy, pupils blown.  

“Jun. kiss me.”  

Jun crawled up, straddling him, caging him in.  

Their lips met soft at first. Then deeper. Dylan opened his mouth, letting Jun taste every corner of him, tongue stroking, claiming, loving.  

Their first kiss was messy. Wet. Gasping. Too much. Too perfect.  

Jun pulled back only when Dylan broke into breathless laughter.  

“I wanted it to be like this,” Dylan whispered, brushing fingers over Jun’s cheek. “Not desperate. Just… mine.”  

Jun lowered his forehead to Dylan’s.  

“I’m already yours. I’m yours since the first day Dylan. I always have been yours”  

Jun settled between Dylan’s thighs again like it was the only place he belonged.  

The air in the room had shifted, heavier now, thick with pheromones. Dylan’s scent had changed again, grown richer. More inviting. The kind of pull Jun felt in the back of his throat, in the base of his spine.  

But this wasn’t about hunger.  

It was about intimacy.  

He kissed the inside of Dylan’s thighs slow, unhurried. Lips pressing softly into sensitive skin just above the knee, then higher. Open-mouthed kisses trailing up until Dylan was trembling, muscles twitching, his legs trying not to close around Jun’s shoulders.  

“Let me see you,” Jun whispered.  

Dylan let his knees fall open wider, breath catching.  

Jun brushed his thumbs along the slick, pushing gently to reveal the source. Dylan was flushed and wet, leaking, his rim twitching, swollen with the early throbs of pre-heat.  

Jun's mouth watered. It felt a waste to let Dylan’s slick fall like this.  

He lowered his face and licked a broad, slow stripe from just below, pausing at the top to kiss the tender skin above it.  

Dylan gasped. “Fuck...Jun........”  

Jun moaned softly against him, then began again. His tongue was deliberate, long strokes, then slow teasing laps around the rim. Not rushing. Not pushing. Tasting .  

Every shift in Dylan’s hips made Jun adjust, one arm curled around a trembling thigh to keep him steady, the other hand splayed over his belly, grounding.  

“You taste…” Jun murmured between strokes, “like syrup and salt and heat. Like you’re already begging for me without a word.”  

He buried his mouth against Dylan, licking deeper, circling his tongue around the rim in slow, firm spirals. Sometimes dipping in. Sometimes retreating to kiss the skin nearby.  

Then a suck. Gentle. Testing.  

Dylan’s whole body arched off the bed, a sob escaping his throat.  

Jun hummed low, pleased and suckled harder.  

Tongue pressed firm, flicking rapidly across the opening, a deep slow lick into, feeling how Dylan fluttered and clutched around nothing.  

“You’re going to make me lose my mind,” Dylan groaned, hands in Jun’s hair now, tugging without meaning to.  

“Let me,” Jun whispered.  

He mouthed at the slick dripping down to Dylan’s inner thighs, licking it up, chasing every drop. Then he shifted lower, exploring beneath—the soft space between Dylan’s entrance and his balls. He sucked there too, letting his tongue map the heat.  

“Jun..Jun....God I.”  

Every moan Dylan let out was breaking. Not pain. Just too much.  

Jun kissed his way back to the point, easing his fingers in again, one, then two, pushing past the tight heat while his mouth stayed latched above, tongue swirling around the rim as he fingered him slow and deep.  

“Shh, I’ve got you,” Jun murmured, wiping his mouth, watching his fingers disappear. “Gonna open you up so gently. You’re already sucking me in.”  

Dylan was slicking around his knuckles now, making messy sounds that only made Jun harder. Still, he didn’t rush.  

He dropped back down and let his tongue join his fingers, licking around where they pushed in, then replacing them with his mouth entirely, tongue fucking him slow and deep, lips flushed and wet with Dylan’s taste.  

Each time he dipped in, Dylan sobbed louder.  

He changed rhythm again, tongue short and shallow, then one long push in, flattening inside him like he belonged there.  

Dylan trembled, whined, tried to say something but the words broke off into a cry.  

“I can’t...Jun.....feels too good...”  

Jun pulled back, panting, licking his lips.  

“You don’t have to do anything,” Jun whispered, kissing his inner thigh again, “except feel it.”  

He kissed lower, this time down the trail of slick that had leaked further, nuzzling against Dylan’s soft cock. It had barely stirred, Dylan was too overwhelmed, too deep in omega-lust for anything else.  

Jun licked it gently anyway. Just the tip. Just enough to make Dylan sob again, twitching under him, torn between overstimulation and need.  

Then Jun dragged his tongue all the way up again, one last slow lick from base to rim, mouth warm and open, catching every bit of slick.  

He kissed Dylan there, slow and deep. Like a promise.  

Dylan lay there panting, glassy-eyed. His hand found Jun’s.  

He squeezed.   

Jun kissed his knuckles. His tongue works in the hole while fingers opening Dylan, another hand grips Dylan’s cock now fully hard. He strokes them. Slow to fast, moving carefully.  

“Please...” Dylan sobs.  

“Right here. I’m right here” Jun exhales fast pacing fast.   

Dylan pushes his hip up to feel more, take more. Jun gives him.  

Dylan follows with a cry, gripping Jun’s hair with choked moan and releases all over Jun’s hand and his stomach.  

Dylan whimpers at the feeling of Jun’s tongue licking excess. His fingers pulled out slowly not to overwhelm Dylan. But he felt the loss.   

Dylan couldn’t stop trembling.  

Not anymore. Not when Jun is so close, so gentle with him.  

He had tried to stay composed, not to ask much.  

But the way Jun’s mouth worked him open, patient and steady. Tongue slide deep with every suck, every kiss like worship. Hands kept his thighs apart when Dylan tried, failed, to close them.  

“Jun... please I...” Dylan choked, head thrashing back against the pillow. “I want more”  

Jun kisses his forehead. “It’s okay. I will give you”  

Dylan blinks.  

The way Jun said it.  

So gentle.  

So firm.  

So Alpha.  

It shattered Dylan.  

He never knew he will witness this version of Jun.  

He whimpered loud, hips rutting up, chasing Jun with helpless, stuttering rolls. His body didn’t care anymore, it had stolen all pride. All shame.  

Just need now. Ne ed and slick and Jun.  

He rutted hard against Jun, grinding down, no rhythm, no control, just instinct, loud moans punching from his chest every time Jun shifts a little.  

“Jun... f-fuck, Jun, please...I need...I need it...”  

“What do you need, baby?” Jun murmured, breath warm against his neck “Tell me.”  

“Anything, everything, just. fuck me..fill me...bite me. I don’t ... fuck” Dylan cried out, sobbing, legs shaking violently as another wave hit.  

Jun growled softly, kissing him one more time. “I’ve got you” Jun said, stroking his thighs, trying to steady him. “I’ll take care of you.”  

Dylan’s body was pulsing, twitching, desperate for something inside. Anything. His hole clenched around nothing, leaking uncontrollably, begging for more.  

“Please...” he gasped. “Please just....stay. .Jun .. ”  

“I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” he kissed Dylan again.  

Mouth to mouth, open and warm and grounding. Dylan tasted himself on Jun’s tongue, his own slick, his own desperation and moaned into it, biting Jun’s lower lip.   

Their bodies pressed together.  

He drops his pants away.  

Jun didn’t enter him yet. Not fully.  

He held Dylan first. Let him sob against his chest, skin hot and flushed and wrecked, legs wrapped tight around Jun’s waist.  

“Jun,” Dylan whispered, voice cracked. “Please stay with me through it. Even if I change. Even if I’m not me.”  

Jun brushed his sweaty hair back, kissing his temple, his cheek, his jaw.  

“You’re always you,” he murmured. “No matter how deep the heat gets. I’ll be right here, we will go through every second of it.”  

Dylan’s breath hitched.  

A tear slid down his cheek.  

Jun kissed it away.  

And finally, he lined himself up and pressed in, slow and steady, as Dylan clung to him like the world would fall apart if he let go.  

And maybe it would.  

But Jun wouldn’t let it.  

Not ever.  

“I’m going to go slow,” he whispered, forehead pressed to Dylan’s. “You tell me to stop anytime. I’ll stop.”  

Dylan nodded shakily, arms curling tighter around Jun’s shoulders.  

The small smile he gave was wet with tears. Jun kissed it.  

Then, gently, he reached down, took himself in hand and guided his tip to Dylan’s soaked, fluttering entrance.  

The heat hadn’t peaked yet but Dylan’s body was already soft, already open from Jun’s mouth and fingers, already wet with slick.  

Jun pressed forward, just enough for his tip to reach and Dylan gasped, high and strangled, hands fisting into Jun’s back.  

Jun stopped there. Let him breathe. Let him feel.  

“Okay?” he murmured, voice breaking.  

Dylan nodded, dazed. “More. I can take more...”  

Jun pushed in slowly, breath shaking as the heat wrapped around him. Tight, warm beyond words.  

Dylan whimpered, hips twitching as inch by inch, Jun filled him.  

“God,” Jun groaned, pressing a kiss to his neck. “You feel… perfect, Dylan. So soft, so good...I can’t...”  

Dylan clung to him, thighs twitching. “You’re so...it’s too much...it’ s not ...”  

“Shhh,” Jun soothed. “Breathe. You’re doing perfect, baby.”  

He paused halfway, letting Dylan adjust, rubbing small circles into his hips, kissing over his chest, his shoulder, the shell of his ear.  

“I want you to feel good,” Jun whispered. “Only good. If it hurts, we stop.”  

Dylan swallowed, face red and sweaty, heart pounding against Jun’s chest.  

“It doesn’t hurt,” he murmured. “It just feels… like I don’t know Jun.” he sobs.  

Jun smiled against his skin. “We will figure it out”  

He slid in deeper.  

Slow. Steady. All the way.  

Dylan’s body spasmed slightly, more slick gushing between them and a sob punched out of his throat.  

But it wasn’t pain.  

It was relief.  

Being filled. Held. Anchored. Touched by the only person his body seemed to crave.  

“Jun,” he gasped. “You’re really inside, I feel you everywhere”  

“I’m here,” Jun whispered, voice thick. “I’m right here.”  

He didn’t move at first.  

Just held Dylan close. Let him feel the weight of it, the warmth, the slow surrender of being taken and cared for.  

Dylan’s fingers trailed up Jun’s back, trembling.  

“You’re not feeling weird of me like this?” he asked, voice barely there. “Needy. Messy. Not cool.”  

Jun leaned down and kissed his eyes, his cheeks, the slope of his throat.  

“I’ve never wanted anyone more” he said honestly. “You, like this, you undo me, Dylan.”  

A shudder ran through Dylan’s frame.  

“Please,” he whispered. “Please move . I need....”  

Jun obeyed.  

Rocked in, slow and smooth, dragging his cock through slick heat, angling up just enough to make Dylan cry out. Then again. Again. A rhythm forming, tender, grounding, not claiming yet, just giving.  

Each thrust pushed Dylan deeper into his emotions. He clung to Jun like a lifeline, lips seeking kisses, voice cracking around every breath.  

“You feel so deep , feels good Jun, I can’t...”  

“Yes” Jun breathed. “You’re taking me so good. I’m so proud of you, Dylan. So proud.”  

Dylan gasped.   

And when Jun shifted his hips to grind just right , Dylan screamed, body seizing in pleasure as his orgasm hit, slick gushing out, thighs locking tight.  

Jun didn’t stop.  

He rocked him through it, fucking him slower, deeper, letting Dylan ride the waves, kissing away the tears that spilled down his cheeks.  

After, Dylan collapsed into him, chest heaving.  

Jun held him tighter.  

He pulled out carefully, laying Dylan back on the bed, gently wiping the mess away before curling beside him, tucking him under his chin.  

Dylan buried his face in Jun’s throat, scenting hard, breathing in Alpha like a drug.  

Jun kissed the top of his head.  

“I’m here Dylan.” Jun whispered. “Whenever you need me.”  

Jun had never cleaned this hard in his life.  

The apartment was already spotless by idol standards. He barely spent time here, rarely cooked and only used the bed for crashing during ruts.  

But today? Nothing felt clean enough.  

Not for Dylan.  

Not for his omega.  

He changed the sheets three times. Bought new ones, ultrasoft, breathable, non-scratchy fabric. Pale, calming colors. Florals, fruity, plain pleads. Something Dylan could bury into. Something that wouldn’t irritate scent-soaked skin.  

He vacuumed. Wiped every surface. Dusted the countertop he hadn’t even looked at in months.  

Then the thought of nest.  

Jun wasn’t sure if Dylan would want one. Some omegas didn’t. Knowing Dylan, who is kinda new to this world, still figuring out about his needs and demands.  

But he’d read enough forums, late at night, scrolling obsessively, some links send by Pepper, to know that first heats were unpredictable. Painful. Intense. Emotional.  

Scary.  

He wanted Dylan to have options.  

So, he made a nest. Not one. Two.  

One in the bedroom, another in the dining.  

It wasn’t perfect. Absolutely not the way a true omega might build but it was kinda soft. He gathered every blanket he owned. Even the ugly one from his trainee days, with faded stars.   

He folded clothes and tucked them in. Some have scent, faint but warm. One of his hoodies, a long-sleeve shirt. He set dimmed light near the nest of dining. Made the corner look fluffy.  

The nest in his room was little better. He changed the position five times. In the end fixed it in the right corner of room. Not so far from the bed, yet space able.  

The middle of the nest, he scented himself.  

Not by rubbing, he’d read that was too aggressive. He lay down, shirtless and let his pheromones bleed gently into the fabrics, anchoring everything in the scent Dylan said helped soothe him.  

Then he stood back, hands on hips and tried to see it from Dylan’s eyes.  

Was it enough?  

Was it too much?  

What if Dylan panicked?  

What if Dylan got scared, halfway through heat and didn’t want him anymore?  

Jun bit his lip and looked away.  

He stocked the fridge next.  

Congee. Broth. Dylan’s favorite electrolyte drinks. A ridiculous amount of fruits. Heat cycles came with nausea and cramps and every article he read told him to be ready for mood swings, crying spells, sharp hunger, and sudden cold sweats.  

Jun had memorized every symptom list. Every omega-safe comfort food. Every grounding technique for overstimulation.  

He even got a heating pad. A soft ice pack. Omega-grade lube and omega-safe suppressants just in case Dylan changed his mind.  

He paced in front of the door five times before finally collapsing onto the couch.  

Everything was ready.  

Except his heart.  

Jun picked up his phone. There was a message from Dylan “leaving in a bit. nervous af lol.”  

He stared at the screen.  

Then typed slowly: 
“ I’m here. I will keep you safe.” 

It took ten minutes for the reply to come in 
“I know. That’s why I’m coming.” 

Jun held the phone to his chest.  

And waited.  

When Dylan arrived downstairs, Jun ran to him.   

Po drove him. He smiles at Jun politely.  

Dylan stood there, oversized hoodie zipped up to his chin, hands clenched around the straps of his overnight bag. His cheeks were red, eyes glassy, scent barely controlled beneath layers of masking spray.  

Jun stepped forward taking the bag. “Hey.”  

“Hey,” Dylan whispered.  

Jun takes his hand gently “Come in. Nest’s ready. You can look at it. Or ignore it. Or throw the blankets at me. If you want something to add or need anything, just tell me, I will get it.”  

That made Dylan laugh, just a little. “Did you… seriously make a nest?”  

“I...” Jun nods.  

“Of course you did.”  

Jun pushes the door open and let Dylan in.  

They stood there for a second.  

Then Dylan stepped into Jun’s arms, Jun dropped the bag. Dylan breathed him in.  

“You smell good” he whispered.  

Jun buried his nose in Dylan’s hair and held him tighter.  

Jun guided him to the room. The bedroom.  

Dylan stood at the edge of the bedroom, gripping the doorframe like it might hold him together.  

The room smelled like Jun.  

Not fancy cologne. Not soap.  

Jun.  

Raw, honest scent.  

Warmth. The kind of scent that wrapped around Dylan’s throat and chest and made it easier to breathe.  

Or harder.  

He couldn’t tell anymore.  

The nest was in the right corner. More like a mountain of soft blankets and pillows surrounded of worn shirts and folded clothes. It looked messy, almost accidental, until Dylan noticed how carefully each edge was tucked, how each layer had weight and intention.  

At the very center, Jun’s hoodie.  

The one Dylan used few days before. Dylan took a step closer.  

Jun stayed by the doorway. Silent. Waiting. Holding his breath like Dylan might run.  

“I’ve never seen one in real life,” Dylan said softly, eyes scanning every inch. “Not a real one. Not for me.”  

Jun’s voice was low, steady. “I didn’t want to assume. But I thought… maybe if your instincts kicked in, you’d want somewhere soft, safe. There’s another one in the dining”  

“I’ve never had a heat before,” Dylan whispered, stepping closer. “Never needed this.”  

“You still don’t,” Jun said. “Only if it feels good to you. Only if you want it.”  

Dylan stepped beside the nest.  

Tugged at one of the blankets.  

Ran his fingers over the folded shirt that smelled like his own detergent mixed with Jun’s scent.  

“I thought I’d feel embarrassed to make one” Dylan admitted. “Like it’d make me feel small. Weak. But it doesn’t. It just feels…”  

He crawled in.  

Quietly. One knee, then the other. Lowering himself slow, like testing deep water.  

His breath caught the moment he touched the middle. The hoodie. The pillow underneath that was soaked in Jun’s scent.  

Dylan curled into it on instinct. His body moved before his brain could argue. Hands fisted in soft fabric. His knees tucked up. He pressed his cheek into the hoodie and inhaled and exhaled with a soft whimper.  

Jun didn’t move.  

Dylan didn’t speak.  

He just melted. Breath by breath.  

The panic left his chest first. Then the weight in his spine. Then the buzz under his skin. All of it, bleeding out slowly into the soft heat of the nest.  

A single tear escaped and landed on the sleeve under his cheek.  

Not from fear.  

Not from shame.  

Just the shock of being taken care of.  

Someone made this for me.  

Not a manager. Not a doctor. Not a protocol.  

Jun.  

Jun, watched silently with his hand clenched at his side like he was afraid to come closer.  

“Jun,” Dylan said, voice thick.  

Jun blinked. “Yeah?”  

“You can come here.”  

Jun hesitated. Then crossed the room and sat on the edge. He didn’t lean into the nest, just stayed close enough that Dylan could feel the heat of him. He heard omegas being protective of their nest.  

“You don’t have to touch me” Dylan said. “I just want you near.”  

“I’ll stay as long as you want.”  

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” Dylan whispered.  

“It’s okay to not to know sometimes”  

Dylan closed his eyes.  

The tension in his body started to burn again, flickering at the base of his spine, in the soft of his belly but it was gentler now. Like his body was finally recognizing the signal.  

It’s safe now. You can let go.  

“Your scent helps,” Dylan mumbled into the hoodie. “So much. It’s like... I can think again.”  

Jun’s fingers twitched on the edge of the blanket.  

“You can lie down,” Dylan whispered. “Just… behind me.”  

Jun nodded.  

No words.  

He moved slowly, cautiously, lying on top of the covers, curling his body just behind Dylan’s curled form. Not touching. Not crowding . But present.  

Dylan’s breath evened out for the first time in hours.  

“I don’t know if I’ll need to be touched when it starts,” he said into the fabric. “Or if I’ll panic. Or cry. Or want everything at once.”  

“I’ll follow your lead,” Jun murmured. “Every second. You say stop, I stop. You want space, I go. You want me closer, I’m here”  

The heat was building slowly now.  

Not painful. Not yet. But Dylan’s skin was starting to hum. His pulse syncing to a rhythm deeper than logic.  

Still, he didn’t feel afraid.  

Not this time.  

Not here.  

“You’re really gonna stay?” Dylan asked, drowsy now.  

“Always.”  

Jun stirred slowly, blinking against the sunlight in the room. The room smells like something sweeter, thicker now. Faintly spiced. Not his own.  

It took a moment for his sleep-fogged brain to place it.  

Then  

A warm thigh draped over his hips. Bare toes tucked against his calf. Arms looped around his waist one hand curled into the fabric of his shirt like a claim. A soft puff of breath at his throat.  

Dylan.  

Jun went still. Careful. The boy was wrapped around him like kitten in couch, clinging in every way a body could, breath warm and even but heavy with heat-slick scent.  

His skin burned hotter than normal. Not feverish. Just ripe. Intoxicated in his own instincts.  

Jun swallowed, slow and quiet.  

Dylan shifted against him with a low whimper, pressing closer, cheek nuzzling into Jun’s collarbone.  

“Mmph… warm…”  

Jun exhaled through his nose, resisting every sharp alpha impulse to pin, bite, take.  

Instead, he cupped the back of Dylan’s head with a careful palm and stroked through the soft, tousled hair. Dylan melted further at the touch, a faint smile forming on his lips, eyes still closed.  

“Good boy” Jun whispered, too soft for even himself to fully hear.  

Dylan let out a breathy little noise. Something between a sigh and a needy hum. His hand dragged up Jun’s chest blindly, fingers splaying over his heartbeat like he was anchoring himself.  

“You smell good” Dylan murmured, still floating. “Smell like… mine.”  

The words shot straight to Jun’s spine.  

“You’re drunk on scent,” Jun muttered, half amused, half panicked.  

But Dylan just nuzzled harder, like he hadn’t even heard.  

“Don’t go,” he whispered.  

Jun froze.  

Then slowly, carefully, he lowered himself back against the pile, keeping Dylan wrapped in his arms. One hand rubbed small, grounding circles into the omega’s back. A calming rhythm. Safe. Steady.  

“I’m not going anywhere,” Jun said softly. “Just sleep a little more. I’ve got you.”  

Dylan made a pleased sound and burrowed in again, leg hitching higher around Jun’s waist.   

And Jun, the cocky, loud, full-of-it Jun, lay still under the weight of him, heart thundering, swallowing past the knot in his throat.  

Because nothing in his entire life had ever made him feel so needed.  

And he would burn the whole world before letting anyone else have this.  

Jun thought Dylan might stay asleep, wrapped so securely around him. But after a while, the omega began to stir.  

A shift of thigh. A slow stretch. His breath hitched, then evened again, his nose pressed into Jun’s neck, lips brushing skin in a way that made Jun’s spine stiffen with restraint.  

“Jun…?”  

The voice was thick with sleep, heat heavy. Innocent or not.  

“I’m here,” Jun murmured, his voice low and warm. “You, okay?”  

Dylan nodded against him but didn’t pull away. Instead, his fingers curled in Jun’s shirt, fisting it tighter as he rolled just enough to look up at him. Eyes still glassy, lashes heavy. Pupils wide.  

“You’re so warm,” Dylan whispered, voice almost petulant.  

Jun smiled faintly. “You said that already.”  

“I meant it.” Dylan blinked slowly, then his lips brushed Jun’s jaw as he mumbled, “Don’t like when you pull away.”  

“I haven’t,” Jun said, breath catching as Dylan’s mouth lingered.  

And he really hadn’t. He hadn’t moved an inch in hours, afraid to disrupt the fragile calm that had settled over Dylan’s pre heat-sore body.  

But now… Dylan was awake.  

And watchin g him like that.  

“I want…” Dylan trailed off, cheeks tinging pink. “I don’t know. Just… this. Close.”  

Jun cupped the back of his neck gently. “You can have it. Come here.”  

Dylan surged forward without hesitation, lips meeting Jun’s with a clumsy, soft press. Warm and uncoordinated, sweet with need. It wasn’t slick or practiced, just a sleepy pull of mouths, open-mouthed and breathy.  

Jun let him lead at first, fingers cradling Dylan’s face as the omega tilted his head to deepen the kiss. A small noise left him, pleased and aching and Jun felt the sound low in his gut.  

Their bodies molded closer, Dylan’s thigh still draped over Jun’s hips, the line of their torsos now flush. Every kiss was sticky-slow, dragged and deep, like Dylan wanted to taste him, no t just kiss him.  

Jun growled softly when Dylan’s teeth scraped his lower lip.  

“Easy,” he warned, pulling back just enough to see his face. “You're scent-drunk.”  

“So?” Dylan’s voice was breathless, lips pink and swollen. “Don’t want to stop.”  

Jun brushed his thumb along Dylan’s cheek. “Not stopping. Just… slowing.”  

Dylan’s expression softened and he leaned in again, this time slower, pressing small kisses to Jun’s jaw, then down his throat, until he murmured, “Did you always smelled this good?” more like question to himself than to Jun.  

Jun smiles and felt something tight in his chest snap.  

He kissed Dylan again, firm this time, cupping his jaw, deep and reverent, tongues brushing with a quiet hum. Dylan whimpered softly into it, melting under the touch, his whole body pliant.  

 Jun huffs a breath of laughter into their kiss, even as he rolled slightly to cradle Dylan closer.  

“You’re dangerous like this.”  

“You better be careful” Dylan mumbled, nipping gently at Jun’s bottom lip.  

Jun kissed him again. Slower. Longer.  

They stayed like that, tangled in soft sheets, bodies pressed together, lips dragging slow between murmured breaths, until the sun rose higher and the rest of the world finally began to stir.  

But inside that room, inside that nest of warmth and instinct, there was only them.  

The lights in Jun’s apartment were dim, amber-toned, wrapped in quiet warmth. The scent of chamomile lingered faintly from the tea Jun had made earlier, though neither of them had finished their cups.  

It was just past midnight.  

Outside, the city moved softly, cars in the distance, wind in the trees. Inside, everything was still.  

Jun had been padding quietly around the place for an hour now, finishing the nest. Rearranging pillows. Folding in soft blankets. Lining the edges with Dylan’s clothes and his own scent-soaked, well-worn things that would help ground the omega when the haze fully came.  

And Dylan watched it all from the couch, curled in Jun’s hoodie, arms wrapped around his knees.  

He felt strange. Floaty.  

Warm under his skin. A little feverish. Like he was being pulled toward something invisible.  

But not scared.   

Not with Jun.  

When Jun finally returned to him, he was carrying a small bowl.  

“Soup,” he said gently. “It’s still warm.”  

Dylan didn’t hesitate.  

He unfolded himself and crawled near into Jun’s lap, finding the hollow of his chest like it was home. Jun held him one-armed, cradling him steady, while he brought the spoon to Dylan’s mouth.  

It tasted like chicken and soft vegetables. Mellow. Easy.  

“Thank you,” Dylan whispered after the second bite, licking at the corner of his lip.  

Jun smiled “You’ve done so well already. Just let me take care of you now.”  

Dylan nodded, eyes closing. “I want to let you. I just… feel weird.”  

“I know,” Jun said. “You’re halfway there. Just let it happen. Don’t fight it.”  

“I will try”  

Jun kissed his forehead. “You have me.”  

Later, Jun helped him into the bath.  

The water was warm, not too hot, infused with scent-neutral salts that Nano had recommended, things that wouldn’t overwhelm Dylan’s senses.  

Floated few candles decoration purpose, made sure they are mild. Similar to his scent.  

Jun helped him undress with slow, reverent hands. Not aroused, just present. Worshipful.  

Dylan was sticky with slick again. His thighs glossy, sensitive. Jun didn’t mention it.   

When Dylan looks up to him, he had no other way then join him. He just held Dylan under the arms and lowered him into the tub, sitting behind him and pulling him between his legs.  

Dylan leans back against his chest with a relieved sigh.  

Jun washed him gently.  

Soft cloth. Careful touches. Over his arms. His shoulders. His back. When he got to Dylan’s belly and thighs, Dylan whimpered quietly but let him.  

“You’re safe,” Jun whispered. “Just me. Just this.”  

The softness, vulnerability of Dylan is very new to Jun. His own heart races faster time to time.  

After, Jun dried him with a thick towel, brushing through his damp hair with his fingers, then dressing him in a soft shirt, Jun’s, oversized and warm.  

Dylan looked smaller now.  

Not fragile. Just unguarded. Pure.  

Jun tucked him into the center of the nest.  

And Dylan curled up immediately, hands gripping one of Jun’s sweatshirts. He buried his nose into it and exhaled, a soft sound of contentment leaving his lips.  

Jun climbed in beside him.  

Not touching at first, just watching. Letting Dylan breathe.  

But eventually, Dylan turned. Reached for him.  

Jun wrapped his arms around him instantly.  

And that’s how they stayed.  

Bodies tangled. Hearts steady.  

Dylan sighed into his chest, fingers fisting into Jun’s shirt, whispering something nearly silent.  

“Stay through all of it.”  

Jun answered without hesitation. “I will.”  

And when Dylan finally fell asleep, hot and pulsing and close to the edge of his first full heat, Jun stayed awake.  

Stroking his back.  

Breathing him in.  

Waiting for the first wave to hit.  

Dylan couldn’t sit still.  

He’d curled up on the couch sometime in the late morning, wrapped in one of Jun’s sweaters, blanket tangled around his legs but every few minutes he shifted. Re-crossed his arms. Frowned. Sighed. Stared blankly at nothing before scrunching his nose and turning away again.  

Jun watched from the kitchen for a while.  

He could see it in the tension of Dylan’s shoulders. The red around his eyes. The way his scent kept flickering, anxious, warm, sharp with an edge of something hormonal.  

Pre-heat.  

It was all coming on now. The cramps. The fatigue. The emotional swing between needing to be held and needing to be left alone.  

“Dylan” Jun called gently. “Can I come sit with you?”  

Dylan looked up slowly, lips parted.  

He didn’t answer right away. He just nodded once, small and tired.  

Jun moved immediately, drying his hands and carrying a heating pad and a small bottle of ginger tea he’d been keeping just for this. He set them down carefully on the coffee table, then eased onto the couch beside Dylan, wrapping an arm around his back without pressing too hard.  

“Here” Jun murmured, lifting Dylan’s knees a little to slide the heating pad under. “You are feeling the cramps again?”  

Dylan nodded, eyes glassy.  

Jun switched the pad on and gently massaged over the blanket with slow, soothing strokes.  

“I am hating this part” Dylan whispered, voice thin. “I don’t feel like me. Fuck why it’s so hard to be an omega? I thought they just craved for knot and done.”  

Jun rested his palm against Dylan’s.  

He said softly. “it’s just. Just… your body’s working overtime. You’re allowed to be tired. You’re allowed to feel off.”  

Dylan didn’t say anything.  

But he leaned in closer.  

Then huffs “What would you know about this? A damn alpha” the frustration slips.  

Jun says nothing further knowing Dylan can’t help those mood swings. It’s his first heat after all. Everything scary, unpredicted.  

The afternoon was spent in waves.  

At one point, Dylan cried and he didn’t even know why. He had been eating a banana and suddenly his hands felt wrong and the light in the room was too bright and then he was shaking, wiping at his face like it was betraying him. His body sore, not in the good way, head hurting, brain fuzzing about music.  

Jun was there in seconds. Pulled him into closer and rocked him slowly, kissing his damp cheeks, murmuring over and over.  

“You’re okay. Just let it out. I’m right here. Nothing’s wrong with you.”  

Later, Dylan refused to eat anything. Then got dizzy from hunger. Then agreed to a single triangle of peanut butter toast that Jun fed him by hand, sitting on the floor in front of the couch.  

At dusk, he curled up again. Said nothing for almost an hour.  

Jun sat nearby, reading softly from one of Dylan’s favorite books.  

It wasn’t a distraction.  

It was an anchor.  

“I’m scared,” Dylan whispered sometime past seven. They were in the nest by then. Not for sleep, just warmth. The lights were low. The nest was soft around them. “What if I get weird tomorrow?”  

Jun looked at him, brushing his hair gently back.  

“You might,” he said honestly. “You might get clingy. Or loud. Or shy. Or pushy. Or too hot. Or too wet.”  

Dylan flushed but didn’t look away. “Not helping”  

“And I’ll stay with you through every version of that,” Jun continued. “Even the ones you’re scared of.”  

Dylan’s eyes filled again.  

He didn’t cry this time.  

He just reached for Jun and whispered “Stay here tonight.”  

“I’m not going anywhere.”  

That night, Dylan’s cramps came back again.  

Jun woke to his soft whimpers, the way he curled into himself and trembled under the blankets.  

Without hesitation, Jun sat up, pulled Dylan into his lap, and rubbed his lower belly in small, firm circles. Whispered warm things against his forehead. Changed out the heating pad. Fed him sips of warm broth. Kissed his fingers.  

And when Dylan finally fell back into sleep, clinging, skin hot, slick beginning to dampen his thighs, Jun stayed awake again.  

Watching over him.  

Protecting him through the worst part of waiting.  

Loving him with everything he had, even though he didn’t know he was capable of that. one breath at a time.  

It was still dark.  

The soft blue of dawn hadn’t broken through the curtains yet. The air in the nest was warm, heavy with scent, clinging to Jun’s skin like dew.  

He stirred, half-asleep, then blinked fully awake when he felt it.  

Touch.  

Fingers curling around his wrist.  

Warm, shaky breath against his throat.  

A bare thigh slipping between his.  

“Jun.”  

A whisper. Raw. Still Dylan’s voice, still his real voice, not heat-roughened or slurred but thick with something deeper. A bloom of need under every syllable.  

Jun turned slowly.  

Dylan lay beside him, flushed and glistening at the temples, hair stuck to his cheek. His eyes were wide and dazed, but focused, barely. Still in control. But fading fast.  

Jun sat up on one elbow. “Dylan?”  

“I think it will be starting.”  

That tremble in his voice. The way his fingers tightened around Jun’s shirt. The heat pouring off him, sticking his thighs together.  

Jun swallowed. “Okay. You’re okay. Let me..”  

But Dylan pulled him down.  

“No,” he said softly. “Please. Stay close. Just a little while. Before I forget how to ask.”  

Jun froze.  

Then nodded.  

“I’m here.”  

He slipped back into the nest, arms around Dylan’s waist, holding him as carefully as he would hold a match about to spark. Dylan shivered against him, hips rolling with the faintest motion, slow, seeking, rubbing against Jun’s thigh like he couldn’t stop it anymore.  

“I don’t want to lose myself yet,” Dylan whispered. “But I need, I need you to touch me. Just while I’m still me.”  

Jun cupped his face. Brushed their noses. “What kind of touch?”  

Dylan blinked fast. Swallowed.  

“I want to remember how it feels when it’s still a choice.”  

God.  

Jun almost broke right there.  

But he didn’t.  

He kissed Dylan instead.  

Soft. Deep.   

Clothes peeled away like petals.  

Dylan lay back, naked in the nest, thighs parted, skin flushed so pink Jun thought he might burn from the inside out. His scent was thick now, still sweet but darkening.   

Jun settled between his legs, slow and careful. He kissed up his thigh, across his belly, then down again. His tongue found the slick pooling between Dylan’s cheeks and licked through it once, firm and slow.  

Dylan cried out. Not from pain. From relief.  

“Jun....” He bucked, gripping the blankets. “Feels so good, fuck, I needed... oh... ”  

Jun didn’t stop.  

He took his time.  

He tasted every drop. Teased Dylan’s rim opens with his tongue, his fingers, working him soft and wide. Dylan whined through every pass, hips twitching. When Jun added a third finger, he sobbed, full body, chest heaving, begging for more.  

But still lucid.  

Still saying Jun’s name like a prayer.  

Afterward, Dylan pulled Jun down on top of him.  

They lay tangled, sweaty, sticky with slick and saliva and skin-warm heat. Dylan was shaking gently, murmuring nonsense but his eyes were still clear. Glazed, yes. But aware.  

“Did I do okay?” he whispered. “Being honest. Asking before I go?”  

Jun kissed his lips, his temple, his throat.  

“You were perfect,” he said. “Y ou are perfect.”  

Dylan exhaled slowly, resting his head against Jun’s chest.  

“Don’t let go,” he murmured, voice thinner now. “When I stop sounding like me, when I get all desperate and messy, just… keep holding me.”  

Jun held him tighter.  

“I’ll hold you through everything.”  

Time melted.  

Dylan lay half across Jun’s chest, thighs sticky with slick, cheeks flushed like rose petals, fingers fisted in Jun’s shirt as if letting go would send him spiralling.  

And Jun.  

Jun was drowning in the way Dylan felt in his arms.  

So soft, still asking. Still coherent.  

Every few minutes, Dylan would shift, pressing closer, rubbing his face into Jun’s neck like a sleepy kitten, whispering his name with trembling breath. Then suddenly he'd pull back, panting like he’d forgotten where he was.  

“Jun,” he said again, breathless, this time into Jun’s mouth. “My skin hurts. But not like pain. It’s like, I want you on me. ”  

Jun kissed him.  

Deep and slow, their mouths moving like waves.  

Dylan whimpered, sucking on Jun’s bottom lip, rutting once against his thigh before flinching and stilling.  

“I don’t want to fall yet. I just...” he gasped, “I want more of you before I stop being able to ask nicely.”  

Jun kissed along his jaw, reverent. “Then I’ll give you everything I can before instinct takes over.”  

He cupped Dylan’s face gently. “You’re so beautiful like this. You know that?”  

Dylan blinked up at him, lip trembling.   

Jun pressed a kiss to his tear-salted cheek.   

He took his time.  

Jun rolled Dylan beneath him, easing his thighs open with slow, gentle hands. Their cocks brushed, Dylan moaned, hips twitching but Jun didn’t thrust. Didn’t rush.  

Instead, he lowered himself and kissed down Dylan’s chest.  

Licked a slow path over his belly, then up again.  

He tongued over Dylan’s nipple until the boy fold, then lavished the other, suckling gently until Dylan was panting, shaking, pushing his fingers into Jun’s hair.  

“Jun,” he gasped. “You’re making it worse... or better... don’t know..fuck..”  

Jun only smiled against his skin.   

Dylan’s thighs trembled.   

Jun worshipped.  

Every inch of Dylan’s skin was kissed or touched or tasted. His hips, his knees, the soft skin under his ribs, the curve of his shoulder. Jun mouthed gently at his inner thighs, biting just enough to make Dylan gasp.  

When he finally pressed his mouth back between Dylan’s cheeks, Dylan s obbed, breath high and broken.  

“Too much..too go od..I can’t...I can’t...”  

Jun stroked his thighs. “You’re doing so well, baby. Just feel.”  

He tongued him open again. Not as deep as before, gentler, more of a tease, slow flicks and swirls that had Dylan bucking helplessly. He was leaking slick steadily now, pooling into the nest.  

Jun couldn’t help but moan into him.  

The taste. The scent. The way Dylan sounded when he whimpered and begged, it was all too much. Too good. And still not even the peak.  

Jun pulled back finally, chest heaving, lips slick with Dylan’s heat.  

When he kissed up Dylan’s body again, he was trembling.  

“Gosh Dylan, your body’s asking for it” Jun said softly, nuzzling his ear. “But I won’t take you until you tell me again.”  

“I will,” Dylan breathed. “ I will , Jun, I just want to feel like yours first.”  

“You already are.”  

They curled back up together, both of them fevered now.  

Dylan straddled Jun’s thigh, hips moving slowly on instinct, his arms wound tightly around Jun’s shoulders. Their foreheads pressed together.  

Every kiss felt like a goodbye to lucidity.  

Every whisper made Jun want to cry.  

“You smell so good,” Dylan whispered. “It’s driving me crazy.”  

“You’re doing so well holding on” Jun murmured.  

“Touch me. Just a little more. Just so I remember this part.”  

Jun did.  

He stroked between Dylan’s legs slowly, gently, watching every twitch of Dylan’s face, every soft stutter of his breath.  

Dylan whimpered, leaning back slightly, his slick-slick entrance clenching around nothing.  

“Don’t go inside yet,” he whispered. “Just… stay with me. Like this.”  

So, Jun did.  

He kissed him. Over and over.  

One hand stroking through his hair, the other cupping between Dylan’s legs, slick fingers rubbing slow circles into soft skin, just enough to tease, never enough to overwhelm.  

And Dylan?  

Dylan broke open under it.  

Shaking. Moaning. Mouth parted and wet, eyes glassy. Tears slipping down his cheeks not from pain but from too much.  

From being seen.  

Held.  

Wanted.  

“Please stay with me,” Dylan whispered one last time, voice nearly gone. “Even when I’m gone.”  

“I’ll be right here,” Jun breathed. “I’ll”  

The nest was warm now.  

Woven tighter from Jun’s steady hands and Dylan’s restless tossing. Blankets layered in soft textures. Hoodies that still smelled like their old rehearsals. Pillowcases kissed with Jun’s scent.  

And at the center, Dylan, flushed and glowing.  

He was lying on his back, chest rising and falling in shallow, frantic rhythms, knees parted as he arched off the bedding in tiny, uncontrollable rolls. His lips were bitten swollen from Jun’s mouth. His eyes, dark and damp, flickered up under fluttering lashes.  

But he was still lucid.  

Barely.  

“Jun…” he whispered. “Come closer.”  

Jun leaned in, cupping the side of his face gently, reverently, brushing back the sweat-mussed hair clinging to his temple.  

“You’re still here,” Jun whispered, more to himself than anythi ng. “Still you.”  

Dylan nodded, tears rolling.  

“I don’t want to forget this part,” he said hoarsely. “The part where I chose you.”  

Jun’s breath caught. “Dylan…”  

“I want you” Dylan said, voice shaking. “I don’t want it to just be instinct. Or heat. Or hormon es. I don’t want to wake up and wonder if I begged because I was desperate or because I love you.”  

Jun froze.  

And Dylan, despite the burn in his veins, the wet sound of slick between his thighs, the tremble in his core, reached up and touched Jun’s cheek with trembling fingers.  

“Jun. Please . ” His voice cracked. “I’m choosing you. I want you to be my first. My Alpha. My everything. I want you to knot me. To stay. To hold me through the worst of it.”  

Jun felt his world tilt.  

The weight of those words. The clarity in Dylan’s soft, steady gaze. Even through the scent-thick air and the fever in Dylan’s skin, this was a choice.  

Jun swallowed thickly. “Are you sure, Dylan?”  

Dylan surged forward, kissed him like fire. Teeth and tongue and salt. When he pulled back, his lips were trembling.  

“Mark me,” he whispered. “Not with y our bite yet. But with everything else. Your hands. Your mouth. Your knot. I want to be ruined and held by you, Jun.”  

“I won’t go until you ask me to.”  

“I’m asking now.”  

Jun groaned low in his throat, forehead resting against Dylan’s. “You’re killing me.”  

It hit like a second heartbeat.  

One moment Dylan was kissing Jun with trembling lips, whispering promises and pulling him close, and the next-  

His body burned.  

A wildfire deep in his gut, spilling into his limbs, curling around his spine. He gasped sharply, spine bowing off the nest. His scent exploded around them so sweet it stung, thick and syrupy with need.  

“J-Jun..” he gasped, voice hitching, raw with want. “ Fuck , it’s starting...”  

Jun was already there, arms anchoring him down, mouth brushing over his cheek, down to his collarbone.  

“I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”  

Dylan cried out, clutching at Jun’s back. His body was slick now wet in ways that should’ve made him shy but didn’t. His inner thighs were shiny with arousal, his rim fluttering open, slick pouring from him in waves, scenting the nest and the air and Jun .  

He tried to speak. Failed. All he could do was grind up, open his legs wider, rut against the firm press of Jun’s hips above him.  

“pleasepleaseplease..” The words mixed, overlapped, one long moan. “Need you inside, need something, please, please...hurts...”  

Jun kissed him hard, swallowing the cry. His hand moved between them, fingers sliding through the mess Dylan had made of himself.  

“So wet,” Jun murmured, voice hoarse. “You’re drenched, baby.”  

“Need you. ”  

“You have me.”  

Jun slicked his fingers and pushed two in deep. Dylan nearly sobbed, his entire body arching to meet the stretch. It was too much, too good, not enough.  

“More, Jun, I. fuck , I need...can’t,” Dylan gasped. “Jun, I need you inside.”  

Jun stroked him gently. “Let me stretch you first. I want you safe.”  

“I don’t care if it hurts”  

“I care.”  

Jun took his time even now. Stretching him. Crooking his fingers just right. Stroking his inner walls with slow reverence even as Dylan thrashed and whimpered, thighs shaking, already close and completely overwhelmed.  

“Breathe,” Jun whispered. “You’re doing so well.”  

Dylan whimpered again, grasping for Jun’s wrist, trying to fuck himself down onto his fingers. But Jun held steady, anchoring him with a kiss just below his ear.  

“I want to feel you,” Dylan gasped. “Want you to stretch me open, want to feel you. Please Jun.”  

Jun lose rhythm for a beat. His heart thudded so hard in his chest it hurt.  

“Say that again.”  

Dylan turned glassy eyes toward him, blinking away tears. He whispered, hips grinding, “pleas e, I need you inside, please Jun, I can’t, please. ”  

Jun kissed him, then pulled his fingers out, slick and shaking.  

He lined up, bracing Dylan’s thighs apart with trembling hands, cock throbbing, drenched in slick.  

Dylan was panting like he was burning alive. “Now. Jun, now, please , I...”  

Jun pushed in.  

Slow, careful, deliberate.  

Dylan screamed.  

Not from pain. From being filled. From being known.  

“Oh my god,” Dylan gasped, heels digging in, trying to take more.   

Jun groaned, burying himself deeper, feeling Dylan pulse around him like he wa s made for this.  

“I’ve got you,” he said again, voice breaking. “I’m not letting go.”  

He began to move, slow, deep thrusts at first but Dylan couldn’t take it slow anymore. He clawed at Jun’s shoulders, sobbing, rutting up against him.  

“Faster, please, need you to...”  

Jun obeyed.  

He fucked Dylan with everything he had, deep, fast, steady, pinned him down and whispered soft words in his ear even as Dylan fell apart, slick squelching around every thrust, cries turning wordless.  

“I’ve got you,” Jun said again. “Even like this.”  

Dylan’s body tightened all at once, his heat pulling taut, ready to snap. But still, still, he whispered the name one more time, with a sob and a smile  

“Jun”  

And Jun.  

Jun swore he would never let that go.  

Dylan woke again hours later, sweaty and dazed, with Jun beside him, watching over him with worried eyes.  

“Hurts again” Dylan whispered.  

Jun pulled him onto his lap, straddling his thighs. “Then I’ll help again. I’ll keep helping until your body settles. I promise.”  

Dylan pulled Jun down into a kiss, sloppy, desperate, full of instinct. When Jun rubbed their noses together, Dylan moaned.  

“Do you want to scent-mark me?” Jun asked gently. “You can.”  

Dylan nodded.  

He licked and kissed Jun’s throat, rubbed against him like a cat in heat, eyes glassy. Jun chuckled softly, letting him. Letting Dylan claim him in every soft, messy way his body needed.  

He doesn’t care about typical alpha marking omega first or about being dominated in weird way. He knows Dylan, now he is witnessing another version of Dylan, he won’t take advantage of anything.  

The second time was harder. Jun bit Dylan’s shoulder, just enough to leave marks. Dylan rode him, nails clawing down Jun’s chest, crying out every time Jun hit the spot that made his vision blur.  

“You’re mine,” Dylan kept mumbling. “You’re mine, mine, mine...”  

And Jun answered back, “Yes, baby. I’m yours. All yours.”  

Jun let Dylan ride him slowly, holding his hips as Dylan rocked with little whines and whimpers, overwhelmed but unable to stop.  

Jun wiped away his tears. “You’re doing so well.”  

it didn’t stop there.  

Not with a heat like this.  

Even as Dylan collapsed against the nest, panting and trembling, his body stayed open, hot and pulsing, slick pouring out around Jun’s still-hard cock.  

He whimpered, trying to move, needing more, or less, or some thing else.  

“Too much.” he gasped, hips twitching as Jun slowly pulled out to the tip, then pushed back in, slow and shallow. “No, wait...I... still... I need.”  

Jun kissed his shoulder blade, breathing steady, lips brushing sweat and scent.  

“I know, baby,” he murmured. “You’re still in it. I’ve got you.”  

Dylan didn’t know which way was up anymore.  

All he knew was Jun.  

The stretch, the heat, the steady press of his Alpha’s hands on his waist, the gentleness layered under every brutal thrust. His body begged for release, begged for more stimulation, then cried at the sensiti vity but it never let up.  

He came again minutes later, hands clutching at the nest, body wracked with sobs that turned into laughter, delirious with sensation.  

“I’m sorry,” he hiccupped. “I... Ican’t stop...”  

“Don’t be sorry,” Jun said against his throat. “You’re doing perfect. Let go whenever you need.”  

It was dizzying.  

Every time Jun slowed down, Dylan begged faster. Every time Jun gave him more, Dylan shuddered and gasped like it was too much.  

They lost track of time.  

The room smelled like heat and slick and Jun. The nest was soaked. Dylan couldn’t stop writhing, grinding down, rutting back, whispering, please, please, Jun, I need more-  

Even when he came again, body convulsing around Jun’s cock, he didn’t get a break. His hole kept twitching, fluttering open, begging to be filled again.  

Jun, sweating, trembling, mind foggy with restraint, never stopped kissing him.  

“You’re incredible,” he whispered. “You’re so beautiful like this. My perfect omega.”  

Dylan moaned at the praise, tears spilling again.  

His thighs were shaking now.  

Everything ached.  

Still, he rocked his hips upward, whining, “Again. I want you to finish. I want you to come inside.”  

Jun closed his eyes tightly.  

“Not yet,” he panted. “You’re too sensitive. One more like this, and then, then I’ll knot you. Not until you’re ready.”  

“I’m” Dylan gasped as Jun adjusted the angle, hitting deeper, just right. “I’m not gonna survive that.”  

Jun leaned down, cupping Dylan’s face. “Yo u will. I’m going to make sure of it. I’m not letting go of you, Dylan. You hear me?”  

Dylan nodded, unable to speak.  

Jun kissed him again, this time softer, almost reverent, then let his hips fall into that deep, perfect rhythm.  

Each thrust now hit the spot Dylan couldn’t bear to be touched.  

He was raw. Gasping. Crying.  

But he wanted it.  

He wanted all of it.  

Even this.  

And as he reached that another peak, body wracked with overstimulation, Jun held him through it, kissing his wet cheeks, whispering how good he was, how strong, how proud he was to be chosen.  

“I love you,” Jun whispered, voice cracking with it. “I love you so much.”  

Dylan sobbed.  

And finally stilled.  

Until his body pulsed again, hips twitching in search of more.  

Dylan had stopped pretending he could think.  

His body wasn’t his anymore, not entirely. It was heat and instinct and raw, slick need.  

But one thing he still knew, even in this haze-  

Jun. Only Jun.  

He whimpered, clinging to him, trembling like a leaf. His thighs were spread wide, twitching with aftershocks, his hole red and swollen and leaking around the slow, gentle roll of Jun’s cock inside him.  

He had come so many times it was hard to breathe. And still, he hadn’t found relief.  

N ot real relief.  

Not the knot.  

Not yet.  

Jun had kept holding back, refusing to go too deep, to swell, to tie, despite how every time Dylan clenched down, his body begged for it.  

“Jun...” Dylan whispered, voice so raw it cracked. “I can’t..I need it.”  

Jun’s eyes were blown wide with restraint. Sweat clung to his skin, his jaw trembling with effort. He was braced above Dylan with trembling arms, every muscle shaking with the effort not to give in.  

“You don’t know what you’re asking for,” Jun whispered, breathless, his voice rough like torn silk. “You’re already so sore, I don’t want to hurt you.”  

“I want it” Dylan gasped, hips rocking up helplessly. “I want you. Please. I need you to finish it.”  

He swallowed hard.   

Jun’s eyes shuttered closed. His cock throbbed hard inside and he groaned deep, like it broke something inside him.  

“You’re sure?” he rasped, pulling back to look into Dylan’s eyes, needing to see the lucidity, the love.  

Dylan cupped Jun’s cheek, barely strong enough to hold his hand steady.  

“I’m not in heat asking you. I’m me . Dylan. And I want my Alpha.”  

Jun gave a broken sound, half-sob, half-moan and kissed him fiercely, pouring everything into it. Dylan’s lips parted eagerly, letting Jun breathe him in, taste him, mark him with touch.  

Jun slicked his fingers again, even though Dylan’s body was already dripping, slick leaking steadily from how overworked and open he was. Still, Jun took his time, easing two fingers inside, then three, stretching him gently, watching every flinch, every twitch.  

“You’re beautiful like this,” Jun whispered. “So honest. So open for me.”  

Dylan bit his lip, back arching as Jun’s thumb brushed over the swollen rim of his hole. “I can feel it. The pressure. Like my body’s begging.”  

“It is,” Jun murmured, kissing the inside of his knee. “You’re ready now.”  

He lined himself up. The base of his cock already swelling, hot and heavy, tight with the beginnings of the knot.  

Dylan gasped as Jun pressed in. He didn’t go slow this time. Not out of cruelty but because Dylan’s body grabbed him, pulled him in deep with a desperation that left them both breathless.  

“You’re so tight” Jun gritted out. “Holding me so fucking good.”  

Dylan let out a whimper, wrapping his legs around Jun’s waist. “Don’t stop. Don’t hold back, please, Jun, please. I want to feel it all.”  

Jun groaned. “You’re going to take my knot?”  

Dylan nodded frantically. “G ive it to me. Fill me. Stay. ”  

Jun thrust deeper, rougher now harder than he’d allowed himself before. Dylan cried out, nails raking down Jun’s back, his body so sensitive that every stroke sent lightning up his spine.  

Then came the stretch.  

Jun’s knot thickened at the base, and Dylan gasped, his body protesting, resisting but needing. He dug his heels into Jun’s back, anchoring him in.  

“It’s okay,” Jun whispered. “You can take it. Just breathe. Let me in.”  

Dylan exhaled shakily, trembling all over. “Hurts-just a little- fuck, Jun”  

Jun cradled him, still inside. “You can do it, baby. You’re almost there. Let me.”  

Dylan nodded , eyes wide, tears threatening to spill. “Don’t stop. Please don’t pull out.”  

With a final, deep thrust, Jun’s knot pushed past the rim and locked. Dylan’s cry was primal, full-throated, legs quaking around Jun’s waist as the knot seated deep inside his slick, pulsing walls.  

Jun stilled immediately. “I’ve got you. I’m right here. You did it, baby. You took all of me.”  

Dylan sobbed, real tears this time. The pressure was gone. The ache evaporated in one wave of fullness.  

His body relaxed. His brain stopped spinning.  

“I feel whole” he choked out.  

Jun’s voice cracked as he wrapped his arms tighter around him. “Because you are. You’re safe now.”  

“I needed this . I needed you.”  

Jun kissed his damp cheek. “You always have me.”  

They stayed knotted for almost hour. Jun whispered soft praises the whole-time stroking Dylan’s hip, murmuring into his hair, scenting him gently.  

Dylan melted against him, boneless and breathless.  

“Don’t ever leave,” Dylan whispered.  

“Never,” Jun answered, brushing a kiss over his brow. “I’ll stay inside you for as long as you need.”  

Dylan dozed briefly in Jun’s arms, his skin flushed, heart slowing after the knot.  

Jun whispered softly, running a hand through sweat-damp curls. “You did so well. I’m proud of you.”  

But Dylan twitched again.  

A soft whine escaped his throat, quiet, confused.  

His legs shifted restlessly. His body, despite the deep satisfaction from the knot, wasn't done .  

Jun felt it. The pulse of pheromones flaring again, like the tide rolling back in.  

“Dylan?” he asked gently, cupping his cheek. “Still hurting?”  

Dylan looked up, eyes glassy. His lip trembled.  

"I.. I still need. I know I shouldn’t...I know it’s too much, but I... can’t stop” his voice broke off into a moan, hips rolling against Jun again, heat-reddened and instinct-drunk. “Please don’t be mad.”  

Jun’s expression softened with s omething feral and tender all at once.  

“I’m not mad,” he said. “I’m yours. I’ll give you everything you ask for.”  

Jun didn’t ask for permission again. Dylan’s scent said it all.  

He rolled Dylan onto his side, curling his own body behind him, protective, dominant, mouth pressed against the nape of his neck.  

Dylan was overstimulated, trembling. Jun guided himself back in carefully but Dylan gasped the second he entered, nearly folding in on himself.  

“Too much?” Jun whispered.  

Dylan shook his head, breath catching. “No. I need it. I can’t think.”  

Jun bit down gently at the junction of his neck and shoulder, not a mark, just enough pressure to ground him. “Then let me take over.”  

Jun held Dylan in place, hips moving slow but relentless, his cock dragging against oversensitive walls that clenched and fluttered around him, slick dripping down Dylan’s thighs.  

Dylan was crying. Not from pain, just sensation. From how full he was. From how possessed he felt. From how Jun wouldn't let go.  

“You like this,” Jun whispered against his ear. “You like being mine like this.”  

Dylan sobbed, nodding helplessly. “I don’t know who I am without it anymore.”  

“You don’t have to know” Jun said, thrusting deeper, voice dark. “You’re mine. That’s enough.”  

Dylan shook under him, limp and pliant, moaning brokenly with each drag. His hands gripped the sheets like he was clinging to the world.  

The realisation of Jun slipping with him, making his brain fuzzier.  

“Please” he gasped. “don’t let me fall apart.”  

“I’ll catch you every time,” Jun said, one hand sliding under Dylan’s thigh to hold him open.  

Dylan came again with a scream, his whole body locking up, back arching so hard he nearly shook Jun off. Bu t Jun held him, driving through the tremors, riding him through the orgasm, murmuring praise into his ear.  

“That’s it. That’s my pretty omega.”  

Even after Dylan went limp, Jun didn’t stop. He moved slower now, just shallow pushes, enough to keep himself buried, to soothe the ache, to keep Dylan full.  

“You’re staying like this,” Jun said lowly. “You want to be wrecked? I’ll ruin you soft.”  

Dylan whimpered, drooling into the pillow. “Alpha... Alpha…”  

Jun’s heart cracked. That was the first time Dylan had ever called him like that. His alpha instinct screaming to protect, hold, keep his omega. His.  

“I’m here,” Jun said, voice fierce. “You’re safe.”  

Finally, Dylan’s body stopped asking.  

The room was hot with spent pheromones and the scent of sex and safety. Jun slowly pulled out, catching the flood of slick and cum with a warm towel, murmuring comfort even as Dylan flinched at the sensitivity.  

“You’re okay,” Jun said, pulling him close again. “You’re perfect. You did so well.”  

Dylan didn’t answer at first.  

And then.  

He burst into tears.  

Jun held him through it.  

Dylan was quiet now, barely moving, curled into Jun’s chest like he was made to fit there. His breath came in shallow, even rhythms. His skin, flushed and sticky, finally cooled under the slow stroke of Jun’s hands.  

Jun didn’t know how many rounds they’d gone. He didn’t care.  

All that mattered was that Dylan was safe.  

Loved.  

Whole.  

Jun had cleaned him gently, sponge-bathing him in bed between, whispering praises between every warm touch.  

“You did so well.” 
“I’m proud of you.” 
“You’re still my Dylan.” 

Now, they lay tangled in the freshly remade nest, soft blankets layered with their scent. Jun had pulled Dylan into his lap, propped against the pillows. Dylan’s eyes were closed but his fingers remained twined in Jun’s shirt like he didn’t want to wake up alone again.  

And that scent, his scent was everywhere.  

It clung to Jun’s skin, soaked into every pore. And something in Jun ached.  

He could feel the bond spot.  

Just under the curve of Dylan’s neck, faintly pulsing, unclaimed.  

It called to him.  

Jun leaned down.  

Just gently, just to scent it. His nose brushed over that vulnerable spot and Dylan shivered in his sleep, instinctive. Trusting.  

The heat of it surged in Jun’s chest, Alpha instincts screaming to mark , to seal what had already been written into their bodies over and over.  

His mouth opened.  

Teeth just barely grazed skin.  

His heart beats once... twice.  

And he stopped.  

He pulled back.  

Dylan stirred.  

Not fully awake, just enough to whimper softly at the loss of warmth, burying his face against Jun’s chest again.  

Jun kissed his temple, throat tight.  

Not like this.  

Not when Dylan was half-conscious, too exhausted to know what it would mean. Not when Jun knew Dylan would say yes just to please him.  

He wanted the bond.  

But he wanted Dylan to want it too, when he was fully lucid, fully himself again.  

Jun wrapped his arms tighter around the omega in his lap, holding him like the promise he wouldn’t rush.  

“Not yet,” he whispered into his hair. “I’ll wait for you.”  

Because Dylan had already given him everything.  

And Jun wanted to give him the choice.  

Next 2 days went without anything much. Jun cleaned around them. Brought food, medicine, drinks for Dylan. Hand feed him, helped him take bath. Gave him space. He thought the heat is gone.  

He thought.  

Until again. The last wave, pushing Dylan to his omega-zone fully.  

Dylan trembled once against the bed. Wore soft cotton to keep himself comfortable. Jun did.  

Jun sat next to him, scrolling his phone, updating their friends, writing something for fans maybe.  

Dylan watches for long time before his finger clenches the hem of Jun’s shirt and tugs gently.  

“You want anything?” Jun asked softly, brushing damp hair from his brow.   

 Dylan shook, barely above a whisper. “No, I just...”  

His voice was hoarse, nearly wrecked. His cheeks started to flush all the way to his collarbone. He looked dazed and soft, twitching under every light stroke of Jun’s fingers.   

Jun leaned in and kissed his temple.   

Dylan whimpered at the endearment, curling instinctively toward him.  

Jun froze slightly at the way Dylan’s fingers clutched his wrist, tugging him closer, eyes blinking open, glassy and dark, pupils blown wide, bottom lip bitten red.  

“Jun…” Dylan whispered, voice sticky with heat.  

Jun raised his brows smelling the heat.  

Dylan looked up at him with trembling lashes and asked, quiet and aching “Will you breed me?”  

Jun’s stomach dropped.  

“Dylan…”  

But Dylan was already pulling at him, weakly, desperately, hands fumbling at his shirt, his body slick and open, the stretch of him still glistening where Jun had just been days before.  

“I... I feel like this. Jun. Please,” Dylan whispered. “I want it. Want you . Want your scent deeper. Inside.”  

Jun closed his eyes, shaking.  

“You’re in your first heat, Dylan” he said gently, voice trembling with restraint. “You don’t know what you’re asking for. You’re...your body is just overwhelmed.”  

“I do know,” Dylan said, voice breaking. “Know I feel empty. Like...like it’s not enough. I still feel cold. And I need you, Jun. I need you .”  

Jun bit his lip hard, trying not to cave.  

But then Dylan’s hands cupped his cheeks, tugged him down and his voice turned soft, reverent, wrecked  

“Alpha…”  

Jun’s entire body shuddered.  

He looked down at Dylan, flushed, trembling beneath him, heat-drunk and glistening and still managing to look utterly fragile . His eyes were wide and wet, so vulnerable and sincere.  

“Say it again,” Jun breathed, like he didn’t mean to.  

Dylan arched up into him just slightly, whispered again-   

“Alpha… please.”  

That was it. Jun couldn’t breathe. His world shakes again.  

Dylan no longer sounds like the Dylan he was during heat, it’s more desperate, more asking, more omega. Dylan using his omega voice to lure the alpha into him.  

And Jun seems no better when his omega asks to be bred that nicely.  

His forehead dropped to Dylan’s shoulder, one arm sliding around the smaller body as if to shield it from the world, even from himself. His voice came out as a low groan, half anguish, half surrender.  

“I’m trying so hard not to ruin you.”  

“You won’t” Dylan murmured. “You’ll make me yours.”  

Jun cursed under his breath, and then finally mouthed over Dylan’s throat, sharp teeth brushing where a claim mark could go, if he let it.  

He removes their clothes, Dylan pulled mostly. As missing Jun’s touch will kill him.  

He shifted down between Dylan’s thighs, lips ghosting over fever-warm skin, one hand splayed protectively over the curve of his hip.  

“I’ll be slow,” Jun warned. “You’ll tell me if it’s too much.”  

Dylan nodded, eyes shining, already whispering  

“Please. Fill me. Want it to hurt. Want to feel you stay .”  

Jun groaned like it broke him and gave the omega exactly what he begged for.  

Jun was buried so deep inside Dylan, he didn’t know where one ended and the other began.  

The room was soaked in scent, a humid fog of slick and alpha musk and the raw, instinct-heavy perfume of omega surrender. Their nest was a tangle of blankets and clothes pulled from Jun’s drawers, every surface reeking of him, surrounding Dylan like a cocoon.  

And Dylan needed more.  

He sobbed softly beneath Jun, legs trembling from where they were hooked around his waist, arms tight around his shoulders as he clung like he’d fall apart without him.  

“Alpha..Alpha, please..”  

His voice was ragged, breathless, his thighs shaking with every slow, deep thrust.  

“I am ” Jun panted, burying his face against Dylan’s damp neck. “I’m here, baby, I’m inside. I’ve got you.”  

“Deeper....need it deeper,” Dylan gasped, nails digging into Jun’s back. “Please, Alpha- please. ”  

Jun cursed under his breath, sweat slicking his skin, hips grinding in harder, slower. Each movement was met with a desperate sound, Dylan’s entire body fluttering, stretched wide and still wanting.  

And Jun’s knot swelled again.  

Dylan cried out, hips jerking up to take it, back arching, lips falling open in a sob as he felt the fullness lock them together. Jun growled low, body tightening with restraint, barely holding back the instinct to bite, to claim, to brand him in every way. 

“You’re mine,” Jun whispered roughly against his ear, kissing the lobe, his voice shaking. “ You feel it now, don’t you? ”  

Dylan nodded frantically, tears spilling from his eyes. “Yours...yours, Alpha, I belong to you.”  

Jun’s rhythm slowed into hard, deep pulses as the heat crested again. He held Dylan tightly as his knot pulsed, release pouring into the slick heat of him in thick, heavy waves.  

Dylan sobbed at the feeling, completely open, stuffed full, finally kept.  

“Fill me,” he whispered again and again, breath hitched between his cries. “Alpha, please...please don’t stop, I want all of it...”  

Jun kissed his jaw, his throat, his chest, panting softly between every press of his lips.  

“I’m giving it to you, baby. Look at you… taking it so well. My perfect omega.”  

Dylan whimpered, trembling under the praise, eyes fluttering shut as his body milked Jun’s knot, slick dripping down the insides of his thighs with each twitch and throb inside him.  

Time blurred. Jun didn’t know what hour it was anymore, only that Dylan’s body hadn’t stopped needing, not for a second.  

He was a mess under him, slick everywhere, thighs trembling violently, begging, crying out, heat cracking him wide open from the inside out. Sweat clung to his skin, flushed and glowing, hair damp and sticking to his face. His whole body begged.  

Jun was beyond reasoning now.  

He’d tried. He’d held back. But Dylan’s heat pulled everything alpha out of him. every possessive, animal instinct buried in restraint now clawing its way out.  

And Dylan wanted it.  

"Alpha...Alpha, again...don’t stop, please..."  

Jun slammed back in, knot again popping through slick muscle, forcing a scream from Dylan’s throat as his hips arched off the bed, legs locking around Jun’s waist.  

“You want it that bad?” Jun growled against his ear. “You want to be bred that deep?” Jun lost himself.  

So did Dylan.  

Dylan sobbed, nodding frantically. “Y-Yes- yes, want it full wanna feel it leaking out, Alpha, I want.."  

“You’ll get it,” Jun hissed, grabbing the underside of Dylan’s thighs and forcing them open wider. “You asked for this. Gonna fuck you until your body can’t take it anymore. Until you’re overflowing.”  

He slammed in again, deep and brutal, his knot swelling inside and locking them together with a wet, obscene sound. Dylan screamed, raw and real, back arching like he couldn’t hold any more and yet welcoming it.  

“ Too full...! ”  

“Take it,” Jun growls. “You will. That’s what your heat is for, baby. This is what you wanted. ”  

His knot pulsed. Again. Again.  

Hot, thick spurts filled Dylan’s already-stretched body, over and over, Jun emptying everything into him, cock twitching hard as he grunted through clenched teeth, mouth biting into Dylan’s shoulder but not hard enough to mark.  

Not yet.  

Dylan thrashed under him, panting, tears sliding down his cheeks as he sobbed, “Still want it-still want more, don’t stop-keep it in-keep me -Alpha, please-”  

“Shh,” Jun growled low, possessive, nearly purring. “You’re getting every drop. Look at you, dripping even with my knot inside you. You’re mine. I’m going to keep you so full you’ll feel me for days. ”  

He shifted slightly, grinding his knot deeper, dragging a fresh scream from Dylan’s throat.  

“ Alpha! ”  

“Say it again,” Jun ordered, hand gripping his hip hard. “Let everyone know. ”  

“ Alpha! ” Dylan wailed, legs trembling violently, completely undone. “ Breed me! Don’t stop-fill me up, please-I wanna feel it in my stomach- ”  

“You already do, ” Jun growled, hand dragging down to press over the bulge in Dylan’s lower belly. “That’s me. That’s what you asked for.”  

Dylan moaned like it hurt, like he needed more, even if his body couldn’t take it.  

And Jun kissed him.  

Kissed him hard, deep, devouring, claiming his mouth like he did his body.  

“Good boy” Jun whispered into his lips, even as Dylan twitched under him, knot buried deep. “My perfect little omega. Look at you. Stuffed, ruined, dripping for me.”  

Dylan whimpered, dazed and broken in the best way, lips trembling as he whispered back “I want your pups , Alpha…”  

Jun shuddered.  

And somewhere in that blinding haze of rut and heat, Jun promised him with his body- someday, I will.  

He breathes out. His alpha sense can tell Dylan fully running by omega instinct.  

“Alpha…”  

The way Dylan said it now was different, less frantic, more soft. Worshipful. Like it was the only word he remembered. Like it was all he needed to say.  

Jun cupped his face, thumb brushing along his tear-damp cheek, gaze drinking in the sight of him, flushed, glazed, bred.  

“You’re mine now,” Jun whispered, chest clenched.  

He stayed knotted inside him, holding him close as Dylan’s legs slowly fell limp around his hips, his body finally trembling its way toward rest. Jun curled over him protectively, lips brushing kisses along his hairline.  

“I’m not going anywhere,” Jun promised. “You’re safe.”  

Dylan murmured a soft, “Alpha,” one last time before slipping into a scent-drunk sleep, finally full, finally quiet.  

And Jun lay there, still inside him, holding his omega close like a promise sealed in sweat and tears and instinct.  

Dylan trembled under him, the cries slowly giving way to tiny, broken whimpers, his breath hiccupping as his body clenched one last time around Jun’s softening knot. He had nothing left to give, slick coating his thighs, the sheets beneath them ruined, his skin flushed and glowing with the remnants of heat and effort.  

His lips moved but the words were faint, nearly incoherent.  

“...so full… can’t… s’too much…”  

“I know, baby,” Jun whispered, breath catching as he gently rocked with him. “I know. You did so well for me. So perfect.”  

Dylan’s hands had long since gone slack around Jun’s shoulders. His legs twitched from overstimulation, body caught in the haze between heat and sleep, instinct and surrender. Even his sobs faded into soft exhales.  

He blinked once, slow, heavy and his eyes rolled back, lashes fluttering as he went completely still.  

“Dylan?”  

Jun stilled immediately, lifting himself up to look at him.  

The boy was breathing, just deeply. Fully limp, completely spent.  

Passed out.  

Jun felt his chest clench tight, not from panic but something deeper.   

He murmured, cupping Dylan’s flushed cheek. “You gave me everything. It’s okay to rest now.”  

Slowly, carefully, he untangled their bodies, easing his softening length out of Dylan’s swollen entrance with a low groan. Slick and seed spilled out in slow, wet trails down the backs of Dylan’s thighs.  

Jun caught it with his hand, whispering an apology even though Dylan was unconscious, then reached for the warm cloth and water basin he’d set aside earlier, he prepared everything.  

Tenderly, he dipped the cloth and began cleaning Dylan’s thighs, inner legs, lower back, anywhere he could reach without disturbing him. Dylan flinched once in his sleep, letting out a faint whine.  

“Shh, you’re okay,” Jun whispered, pressing a kiss to his knee. “I’m just cleaning you up, pretty thing. You’re safe.”  

He worked in silence, wiping sweat from Dylan’s temples, softening the messy tangles of his hair, pressing gentle kisses to his shoulder and collarbone between swipes.  

The room smelled like them, raw, claimed, home.  

Once Dylan was clean, he changed the bedding beneath him with quiet, practiced care. He slid in behind him, curling around Dylan’s back, wrapping his arms around his waist like a protective shell.  

Dylan sighed in his sleep, body relaxing into him.  

Jun pressed a kiss to his nape. Then another.  

“You did so good, baby. I’ve got you.”  

His voice dropped to a whisper, lips moving against flushed skin.  

“I’m never letting you go.”  

Dylan woke to silence.  

No slick between his thighs. No aching stretch. No roaring heat in his chest. Just warmth. Heavy, human warmth.  

Jun.  

The Alpha was wrapped around him, one arm curled beneath Dylan’s neck, the other draped protectively over his waist. His breath was soft against Dylan’s nape, deep and even, still asleep.  

Dylan blinked up at the ceiling.  

His body ached everywhere. Inside and out. His thighs were sore, his throat dry. His skin carried the scent of heat and Jun and sex and home .  

And he was no longer burning.  

His heat was fading.  

And with its departure came thoughts.  

A flood of them.  

Had he begged? Cried? Had Jun been gentle enough? Too gentle? Had he said too much? Did Jun regret it?  

Things won’t be same after this. Or ever.  

But then, Jun shifted beside him. Tightened his hold. Pressed a lazy kiss to the nape of Dylan’s neck in his sleep, murmuring something unintelligible but soft.  

Dylan closed his eyes.  

In this quiet, without hormones screaming in his veins, he still wanted to stay.  

Still felt safe.  

He turned slightly, careful not to wake Jun, and watched him, face slack with exhaustion, hair a mess, mouth parted slightly. So real . So, his .  

And Dylan whispered, barely audible, “Thank you.”  

Because even now, in the quiet aftermath.  

Jun hadn't let go.  

“Jun,” Dylan said softly, voice still hoarse. “Can I have a bath? Just… some time to myself?”  

Jun looked up from bed, eyes bright despite the exhaustion. A slow smile spread across his face.  

“Of course. Take all the time you need. I’ll have breakfast ready when you’re done.”  

Dylan felt warmth flood his chest, the simple kindness grounding him.  

He slipped quietly to the bathroom, peeling off the remained of clothing and easing into the warm water. The water soothed his aching muscles and calmed the lingering fire beneath his skin. Steam curled around him as he closed his eyes, breathing deep, letting the solitude cradle him.  

Other side, Jun moved, cracking eggs, frying toast, making coffee, his thoughts always drifting back to Dylan. He knew this was just the beginning of their journey and every small moment of care mattered.  

In the bath, Dylan let himself sink deeper into calm, muscles loosening, mind clearing. The heat was leaving, but the bond remained, strong and steady.  

And when he finally stepped out, wrapped in soft towels, the scent of breakfast and Jun’s steady presence welcomed him back home.  

Dylan padded into the kitchen with damp hair and warm skin, the oversized hoodie slipping down one shoulder. The smell hit him first, coffee, eggs, toast, something sweet bubbling in a pan. He blinked against the soft light and then saw Jun at the stove, barefoot, hair a mess, wearing nothing but sweats and a too-loose tank top.  

He looked over his shoulder and smiled the moment he saw Dylan. “Perfect timing. sit.”  

Dylan hesitated, then slid into the chair, the one Jun had turned slightly to face the table like he had thought about how Dylan might want to sit even before he asked. The small detail tugged at something deep in his chest.  

Jun placed a plate in front of him. Eggs scrambled soft, toast cut diagonally, strawberries on the side, all arranged with careful hands. Dylan stared at it for a second before looking up.  

“You remembered I like jam on the side,” he said quietly.  

Jun sat across from him, coffee in one hand, his other reaching out instinctively, resting on the table, palm up offering.  

“I remember everything about you” Jun said simply.  

Dylan placed his hand in Jun’s.  

They ate in a gentle quiet. Every now and then, Jun’s eyes would lift to watch Dylan chew, to make sure he was eating enough. And Dylan, for the first time in days, felt the knot of anxiety in his stomach start to loosen.  

After a while, Dylan spoke. “Thank you. For... being.”  

Jun looked at him, something raw in his expression. “You didn’t need to thank me. You deserved it.”  

The silence swelled again, not heavy this time, just full. Dylan took another bite of toast, then smiled, soft, almost shy.  

“Your nest was perfect” he whispered.  

Jun’s breath caught. “You made it better just by being in it.”  

They sat there, hands still joined. The food was nearly finished, the coffee cooling. But neither made a move to clean up.  

Dylan leaned forward, brushing their fingers together. “I know I asked you to be my alpha before the heat” he said, voice steady. “But I didn’t really get to say what that means.”  

Jun didn’t interrupt. Just waited, holding still like the words were sacred.  

“It means I trust you” Dylan said. “Even when I couldn’t think, even when I couldn’t speak… I still felt safe.”  

Jun swallowed, lips parting slightly. “I’ve never felt more honoured in my life than hearing you say that.”  

Dylan squeezed his hand.  

“Will you… keep staying? Not just through the heat. But after. Through all of it?”  

Jun’s answer was immediate. “I’m not going anywhere.”  

Dylan nodded, eyes suddenly glassy.  

Jun rose and came to kneel beside his chair, pressing a kiss to the back of Dylan’s hand, then resting his forehead there.  

“I’m yours,” Jun said. “Whenever you want me. However, you want me.”  

And for the first time that morning, Dylan let the tears fall, quiet, grateful.  

Because now, there was no more fear. Only them .  

It felt surreal, stepping back into the MARS house. Familiar hallways. The same thrum of music from Pepper’s room. The faint scent of Thame’s tea still lingering in the kitchen. Sure, Po came over. Nothing had changed. And yet- everything had.  

Dylan paused at the door to his shared room, strap of bag still gripped tight. Jun stood just behind him, close enough to feel but not hovering. Letting Dylan take the lead.  

Inside, the room was exactly as they had left it, Jun’s side with his tidy desk and half-read scripts. Dylan’s with a tangle of blankets and a wall collage of half-taped polaroids. But something in the air had shifted. Softer. Quieter. A little more theirs now.  

Dylan let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.  

“You sure you’re okay sharing again?” Jun asked gently, his voice lower than usual, more cautious.  

Dylan looked back over his shoulder. “I never wanted to stop.”  

They unpacked slowly. No rush. Dylan folded his clothes more carefully than usual. Jun rearranged their beds just slightly, pulling them a little closer, the middle rug smoothed out, like a silent promise that the distance between them had shrunk for good.  

They didn’t say much. They didn’t need to.  

Around noon, Nano poked his head in the doorway with a grin and a very obvious attempt at subtlety. “You two alive?”  

Dylan chuckled, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Barely.”  

Nano’s gaze flicked between them, then landed on Dylan’s flushed ears and Jun’s softer-than-usual expression. “You look different,” he said finally. “Like… softer. Happy.”  

Jun shrugged, a rare smile curving his lips. “Maybe we are.”  

Nano rolled his eyes but grinned. “Well, good. Because P’Thame already made extra soup, P’Per is asking what you want for movie night, and I’m not cleaning up anyone’s heat nest off the couch again.”  

Dylan buried his face in his hands. “Nano..”  

“I’m kidding!” Nano cackled. “Mostly.”  

When he finally left, laughing down the hall, the door clicked shut behind him, and the room fell into a comfortable hush again.  

Jun walked over to Dylan’s bed and sat on the edge. “You okay?”  

Dylan nodded. “Just… adjusting. It’s weird. I feel like I’ve been holding my breath for days.”  

Jun reached out, gently tugging Dylan down beside him. “You don’t have to anymore.”  

They laid there side by side, quiet. The sounds of their shared home drifted in from beyond the door. someone cooking, a laugh, the thud of a distant speaker.  

Life had resumed.  

But Jun’s fingers found Dylan’s without asking, and Dylan laced them together, resting their hands over his heart.  

A small smile crept across his face. “I’m glad we did this. I don’t regret any of it.”  

Jun kissed his temple. “Me neither.”  

They didn’t need a nest to feel safe anymore. Just each other.  

Chapter Text

The shift was obvious. By the dinner, everyone sat together, casually eating, talking about some fan edits, laughing about new dance step or anything.  

Dylan sat next to Jun at the table, their knees brushing under the surface and he didn’t flinch away. He didn’t tuck himself small like usual or bury his focus in his phone. Instead, he listened while Jun talked. Laughed when Jun made one of his quiet, dry jokes. Even leaned in once, chin tipping toward Jun’s shoulder, eyes soft. As he is melting without even knowing it.  

Thame noticed first, of course. He said nothing but his gaze lingered every time Dylan glanced up at Jun like he was gravity itself.  

Nano was the second. He watched them with a slowly growing grin that he didn’t even try to hide, practically bouncing in his seat across the table. At one point, he nudged Pepper so hard that the other man almost dropped his spoon.  

Pepper raised an eyebrow. “What?” as he is not seeing it.  

Nano leaned in dramatically. “They are mated. ”  

Pepper hummed. “They look mated.”  

Nano gasped. “Wait, did they actually....?”  

Pepper gave him a pointed look and Nano giggled.  

“Okay, okay. No intrusive thoughts. I’m just saying. Look at them.” He leaned closer again, watching Jun gently reach to brush a stray grain of rice from Dylan’s cheek without a word. “He didn’t even tease him. He just did it. That’s full alpha behaviour.” 

“I think Jun always been full alpha” Pepper muttered. “Just didn’t show it till now.”  

Nano smiled “It’s kind of cute.”  

Dylan caught them whispering and narrowed his eyes.  

Nano grinned wider.  

Later that night, after the dishes were cleared and the kitchen quieted down, Dylan lingered.  

Jun had gone to their room already, giving him space. And that space, oddly enough, felt safe, like Jun knew he didn’t need to be glued to Dylan every moment. That he trusted Dylan to find him when he was ready.  

It made Dylan’s chest ache in a good way.  

He found Pepper in the living room, curled up on the floor near the coffee table with his laptop. Nano lay across the couch beside him, scrolling his phone, watching some kpop idols.  

“Hey” Dylan said softly.  

Both of them looked up. Nano beamed.  

“Heyyyy, you, okay? Or still in the mood?”  

Dylan rolled his eyes but his smile crept in.   

Pepper patted the space beside him and Dylan sat down.  

For a moment, no one spoke. Then Dylan whispered, “It was… intense. More than I expected. But also… I don’t know. Right. I have never felt so taken care of.”  

Nano’s teasing eased immediately. He sat up, drawing his knees to his chest. “That's good. Not gonna lie I was kinda worried.”  

Dylan flushed. “Jun… he didn’t even hesitate. He just knew what I needed. Even when I didn’t.”  

Pepper nodded slowly. “That’s what makes a good alpha.”  

There was a pause and Dylan looked down at his hands. “I was scared it would change too much. That I wouldn’t feel like myself anymore.”  

“You are still you” Pepper said. “You just let someone see all of you now.”  

Nano leaned over, bumping their shoulders gently. “We are really proud of you, you know.”  

Dylan swallowed hard, nodding. “Thanks.”  

“Also” Nano said with a wicked grin, “Jun hasn’t smiled this much in months . I think he would bite a camera guy if they looked at you wrong.”  

Dylan snorted. “He already glared at one during rehearsal.”  

“Alpha instincts” Pepper murmured with a small smile. “It will settle with time.”  

“I don’t mind” Dylan said softly.  

And he meant it.  

Because for the first time in a long time, Dylan didn’t feel like he had to hide or protect himself or prove anything. He could just curl into Jun’s arms or laughing at the dinner table or talking quietly on the floor with people who saw him. 

He was loved. And it was enough.  

The house had gone still by midnight.  

Dylan’s footsteps were light, padded with the hesitance of someone not entirely sure why his chest felt too full to sleep.  

He passed Nano and Pepper’s room, soft breathing from inside. He paused outside of their room. He stood there a moment, fingers brushing the doorknob.  

Then he turned on his heel and padded quietly inside.  

Dylan opened the door gently and slipped in, heart thudding quietly in his chest. He didn’t have to say anything. The room already smelled like safety, Jun’s scent settled around him as comfort and the shape of Jun’s body under the blanket tugged at something deep inside him.  

Jun stirred as the bed dipped, blinking slowly into the dark.  

“Dylan…?”  

Dylan didn’t speak at first. He just slid closer, curled up beside him without a word, pressing his face into Jun’s chest like muscle memory. The warmth of him, the steady heartbeat, the way Jun’s arms instinctively curled around his waist, it was everything.  

“Couldn’t sleep” Dylan mumbled eventually, voice muffled against the soft cotton of Jun’s shirt.  

Jun hummed low. “You don’t have to explain. You are always welcome here.”  

There was a pause. Dylan exhaled shakily, the last pieces of tension leaving his body.  

Jun’s hands moved slowly, one up Dylan’s back, the other threading into his hair. “Still feeling okay?”  

Dylan nodded. “Better. Just… felt empty when I was alone.”  

Jun’s hand stilled. “Do you want me to scent you?”  

“...Yeah. Please.”  

Jun leaned down, nuzzling gently at the crook of Dylan’s neck, laying a soft kiss there before settling. Dylan’s body melted further into his, eyes already fluttering closed. He felt held, anchored, not just physically but emotionally, completely.  

“I have got you” Jun whispered.  

Dylan nodded sleepily.  

They lay there in silence after that. Jun’s fingers brushed through his hair continuously. And Dylan, half-asleep already, let himself drift in that rhythm, in the steady heat of Jun’s skin, in the unshakable truth that this- whatever they were now maybe wasn’t temporary.  

And for the first time since everything changed, Dylan let himself believe in the soft kind of forever.  

The studio buzzed with controlled chaos.  

Stylists were running between racks of coordinated outfits. Pepper was on a call with the director. Nano was already half-dressed and arguing with the lighting tech about how his cheekbones were being treated unfairly. And Thame was balancing a protein shake.  

Amidst it all, Jun and Dylan stood side by side, half-dressed, quiet.  

Their eyes met briefly over the makeup chair. Not a word passed. Just a shared pause. A breath. A glance.  

And then Dylan was being shifted into a different chair, makeup brushes blooming over his cheekbones. But his hand drifted toward his thigh, right where Jun’s hand had held him just last night as he fell asleep wrapped in warmth.  

It wasn’t something you could hide.   

Not when Dylan’s scent was still faintly saturated with Jun’s. Not when his gaze lingered too long on Jun’s profile between shots. Not when Jun kept subtly shifting his body just enough to keep himself between Dylan and the too-harsh stage lights or the extra photographers.  

It didn’t go unnoticed.  

Nano was the first to narrow his eyes. He walked by once, then circled back with a little grin.  

“Something you wanna tell the class?” he asked under his breath, eyes flicking between them.  

Dylan flushed but didn’t look away from Jun. “What?”  

Nano winked and squeezed his shoulder. “Nothing nothing”   

Jun chuckled.  

Later, during the group shoot, they all buckled together, pressed on eachother, goofy, oggy, laughing, joking.  

They moved, Dylan froze for a breath. Jun hesitated a little.  

Then, slowly, Jun’s hand settled at Dylan’s waist, without showing much, doing anything extra yet he is doing so many things.  

Dylan’s body reacted before his mind could catch up, his back eased into Jun’s chest, his eyes half-lidded. The expression was natural. Trusting. His fingers brushed over Jun’s wrist, a soft anchor.  

The click of the camera felt too loud. The photographer murmured, “Perfect. Don’t move.”  

Dylan swallowed, cheeks pink.  

Behind them, Pepper gave Nano a look.  

Nano smirked. “Oh, they are bonded bonded.”  

Jun and Dylan didn’t correct him.  

It was near the end of the day, after the shoot, after the last laugh, after the boys had slipped into their waiting van. Jun stayed back under the excuse of helping pack up cables. Really, he needed a moment to breathe.  

He had just zipped up the last lighting bag when someone cleared their throat gently behind him.  

“Jun.”  

It was Thame.    

Jun straightened, brushing his hands on his jeans. “Oh Thame?”  

Thame offered a soft smile. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to question anything” His eyes crinkled a bit. “Just... noticed the way you and Dylan move around each other now.”  

Jun’s throat tightened. He didn’t answer right away.  

Thame didn’t press. He stepped a little closer, voice low and steady. “It feels like you are bonded. Or... close to it. Good for you”  

Jun stared at the ground, jaw clenched. “We’re not. Not officially.”  

 “No mark, then.”  

Jun shook his head. “I didn’t bite him. I almost did. During his heat. He....he asked for everything else but he wasn’t... fully lucid. I couldn’t.”  

Thame didn’t respond at first. Then he nodded, a slow, approving gesture.  

“That’s good” he said softly. “To wait.”  

“I wanted to” Jun confessed, more to himself than to anyone. “But I also want to deserve that moment. Not just take it because he is vulnerable.”  

“And now?” Thame asked, watching him closely.  

Jun hesitated. “Now I don’t know how to bring it up. I don’t even know if he wants it. We haven’t talked about it. I... don’t want to pressure him, especially now that his head is clear.”  

Thame offered a thoughtful hum. “That’s the tricky part, isn’t it? The real consent doesn’t always come in the heat of the moment. It’s when the hormones fade and you are left with choice.”  

Jun looked up, eyes serious. “I would rather wait forever than steal it.”  

That made Thame smile, gentle and proud.  

“You are already his alpha” he said. “Anyone with eyes can see it. Bite or no bite, your scent is wrapped around him like armor.”  

Jun’s breath hitched, heart tight.  

“Still... maybe let him know you are waiting. So, he doesn’t think you regret it.”  

That thought stopped Jun. He swallowed. “...I didn’t think he would wonder.”  

“Most omegas do” Thame said kindly. “Specially after their first heat. Specially when their alpha is trying so hard. And knowing Dylan, God knows what he keeps inside.”  

Jun let out a shaky breath, almost a laugh. “I will talk to him.”  

“Good.” Thame patted him once on the shoulder. “You are doing fine, Jun. I’m proud of you.”  

As Thame walked away, Jun stayed rooted, fingers curling into the strap of his bag.  

He would talk to Dylan. But not yet. First, he had to be sure Dylan felt safe again. Fully healed. Fully seen. The mark could wait. The love couldn’t.  

The Mars house was unusually quiet.  

The performance high had faded into soft showers, leftover snacks and the shuffle of tired feet. Most of the boys had already disappeared into their rooms, lights dimmed, voices hushed.  

Dylan was in Jun’s bed again.  

Not like during the heat, there was no desperation now, no scent-thick pull or rut-heavy kisses. Just warmth. The kind that made Jun’s throat ache because it was gentle, slow and real.  

Dylan was curled beside him under the blanket, damp curls pressed to Jun’s shoulder, one hand tucked loosely against Jun’s chest. His breathing was steady. Not quite asleep, not fully awake. Somewhere in the in-between.  

Jun brushed his fingers through that hair, over the soft buzz at the nape, then down Dylan’s back beneath the borrowed t-shirt. He traced idle lines there, something soothing and silent, while his mind spun loud.  

Tell him.  

The thought had haunted him since Thame spoke those words. Since the soft moment in the van when Dylan had leaned into his side and the casual way Pepper had said, “So, it’s official now?” with a teasing grin and Dylan hadn’t said anything. Just smiled faintly.  

Jun still hadn’t answered.  

And he still hadn’t asked.  

Now, with Dylan breathing so close, calm and safe, Jun felt the urge rise again like a wave in his throat.  

“Dylan…” he murmured.  

Dylan shifted slightly. Not startled. Just responding. His fingers tightened where they rested against Jun’s chest, thumb brushing over his heartbeat.  

Jun closed his eyes.  

His voice came out softer. “I almost bit you.”  

Dylan hummed faintly.  

“I wanted to. I still...” Jun exhaled. “But I didn’t. Because I wasn’t sure you would want it once you were clear. And I didn’t want to take something permanent just because your body said yes.”  

Dylan didn’t move.  

Jun’s fingers stilled on his back. “I have been thinking about it. A lot.”  

Still no answer.  

He looked down to find Dylan’s eyes closed now, breath even, body heavy with sleep. Peaceful. Trusting. Safe.  

Jun smiled faintly to himself, pain and love tangled in his chest.  

“Not tonight” he whispered, pressing a kiss to Dylan’s hair. “You deserve to say yes out loud.”  

He stayed there, holding him, watching the slow rise and fall of Dylan’s chest.  

The love was already there. The bond, unspoken but deeply felt.  

And when Dylan was ready, when he was fully present, when he looked Jun in the eyes and chose it, then he would ask.  

Until then, Jun would just stay.  

Holding him.  

Loving him.  

Waiting.  

The dorm was quiet.  

Jun had left for his separate schedule, Thame and Nano went out for bubble tea and Dylan…   

Dylan had slipped in his working mood. Headphone around his neck playing some melody he barely cares about. Fingers tapping the pen in his hand almost gonna make a hole from being harsh.  

He sat on the edge of his bed in their shared room, his side of the mattress still smelled like Jun. Not overwhelming. Just enough. Just like everything Jun did.  

He didn’t cry. Not exactly. But his chest felt too full.  

He brought his knees up and wrapped his arms around them, forehead pressed against the soft worn fabric of the hoodie he was still wearing. Jun’s hoodie.  

It had been days since the heat broke. Days since the last round, since Jun had knotted him and held him through the aftermath like Dylan was something fragile and precious. Like he wanted to stay.  

And he had stayed.  

Through the fever, the shaking, the feral desperation. Through the quiet recovery mornings. Through Dylan’s messy tears and aching cramps. Through the first giggles and sleepy cuddles after the worst had passed.  

Jun never left. Not once.  

But…  

He hadn’t bitten.  

He hadn't said the word. Mate .  

And Dylan hadn’t asked.  

Because how could he?  

Jun had already done so much. More than anyone ever had. He had taken care of Dylan with hands too gentle to be real, held him like he was a flower. He had loved him in all the quiet, unspoken ways. Even if they had never called it that.  

But maybe Jun didn’t want to call it that.  

Maybe Jun was just being responsible. A good alpha. A kind teammate. Someone who didn’t want to leave him alone in a terrifying first heat. Not someone who wanted to keep him.  

Dylan swallowed hard, rubbing at his eyes with his sleeve.  

Jun hadn’t signed up for this.  

He hadn’t asked to be Dylan’s alpha. Dylan had asked him , panicked and overwhelmed, backstage before it all started. And Jun had just… said yes.  

And what if that yes was just temporary?  

What if Dylan asked for more and Jun backed away?  

The ache in Dylan’s chest wasn’t heat anymore. It was something worse. Something quieter and colder.  

Longing.  

He wanted it. He wanted Jun to say it was official. That they were something real and lasting. That the mark would come not just because of biology but because Jun chose him.  

But he was scared.  

Because Jun was so good at carrying things without complaint. So good at giving. What if Dylan was just one more thing to carry?  

A knock came at the door.  

Jun’s knock.  

Two soft taps. Always the same rhythm.  

Dylan wiped his face quickly and stood, throat tightening.  

He didn’t know how to ask the question yet.  

But he wanted to.  

But for now… maybe that was enough.  

The door creaked open gently.  

Dylan didn’t look up right away. Pretended as he is busy with his work. He sat cross-legged on his bed, scribbling something. His face was calm. Casual. Almost convincing.  

Almost..........  

Jun stepped in quietly, closing the door behind him with that same careful click he always used when Dylan was sleeping. His scent drifted in, grounding, familiar. Dylan’s body responded before his mind could, shoulders relaxing, pulse slowing slightly, like it always did when Jun was near.  

But still, he didn’t speak.  

Jun padded across the room, socks soft against the floor, hoodie sleeves pushed up to his elbows. His hair was damp from a quick shower, he had probably rushed through it. He always did after shoots, saying he didn’t like the way hairspray clung to his scalp.  

“You good?” Jun asked softly.  

His voice didn’t press. It landed lightly, an invitation.  

Dylan glanced up and gave a small nod, barely lifting the corners of his mouth. “Yeah. Just tired.”  

Jun nodded too, as if that answer was enough.  

He didn’t sit beside Dylan right away. He went to the nightstand, fiddled with the diffuser, added a few drops of lavender. Checked the curtains, the room temperature. Quiet little things that didn’t need to be done but always were. His way of saying I’m here , without forcing anything.  

Finally, he turned and met Dylan’s eyes.  

“You hungry?” he asked. “Nano brought a pastry for you.”  

Dylan shook his head. “Maybe later.” He was too focused on own thought that he didn’t even hear when boys came back.  

Jun’s gaze lingered for a second longer, seeing more, maybe. But he didn’t ask.  

Instead, he moved to his side of the bed and sat down with a soft sigh, leaning back on his palms. The silence between them stretched but it wasn’t cold. It was warm. Familiar. Like a waiting room for words neither of them was ready to speak.  

After a moment, Jun lay down, facing Dylan, close but not touching. Just near enough that the warmth of his body could be felt across the blankets.  

“Don’t have to talk if you don’t want to,” Jun murmured. “But I’m here. Okay?”  

Dylan looked at him.  

Jun’s eyes weren’t expectant. Just open. Patient. Steady, like always.  

Dylan swallowed, heart aching in a quiet way.  

“Okay” he whispered back.  

Jun gave a small smile. Then he closed his eyes, his breathing evening out as he let the day go.  

Dylan stayed sitting a little longer, just watching. His fingers ached to reach out, to run through Jun’s hair, to ask the question he couldn’t shape yet.  

Instead, he set the headphone aside and slowly slid down under the covers, curling toward Jun.  

Not touching. Not yet.  

But close enough to feel safe.  

Close enough to be held, if he asked.  

It was one of late afternoon in the MARS house. Most of the members were scattered, Jun was with Po, Thame and Pepper in the studio reviewing something and Dylan was half-sunk into the living room couch, lazily flipping through a lyric notebook he wasn’t really reading.  

Nano padded in barefoot with a smoothie in one hand and a popsicle in the other.  

“Yours melted” he announced, tossing the dripping paper napkin into the trash as he walked by. “I made you a new one.”  

Dylan blinked. “I didn’t ask for one.”  

Nano plopped down beside him, legs folding neatly underneath him. “Didn’t need to. You always crave it when you’re overthinking.”  

“I’m not...” Dylan stopped himself mid-protest. Then he accepted the smoothie without another word.  

“Could have fool me” Nano didn’t press. He just sipped his own and leaned his shoulder lightly against Dylan’s.  

They sat like that for a moment, comfortable, the quiet only broken by the distant hum.  

Then Nano spoke, softly, like someone casually offering a truth he already knew would land,  

“You know” he said, “When I spend my first heat with P’Per, I was scared as hell. He had a stable life, a whole professional girlfriend before and great life together. I feared that I am not enough for him.”  

“He loves you” Dylan spoke as he is defending. But doesn’t know who, Nano or Per.  

Nano chuckles. “I know that”  

“When Pepper didn’t mark me right away, I thought it meant something was wrong.”  

Dylan tensed beside him. Not enough to be obvious, but Nano was Nano.  

“It wasn’t, though” Nano continued, voice gentle. “He was just scared. Scared of what it meant to really belong to someone. That it would change everything.”  

Dylan kept his eyes on the notebook but his fingers had stopped flipping pages.  

Nano sipped again, then added, “But it didn’t change everything. It just made the things that mattered stronger. It’s always scary this way Phi”  

There was silence between them again. Not uncomfortable, just weighty, like something settling.  

Dylan finally glanced sideways. “We’re not... there.”  

Nano shrugged with a tiny smile. “Maybe. But you sleep in his shirt. And he watches you like you are already his.”  

Dylan exhaled, slow. His grip on the smoothie cup tightened slightly.  

“I didn’t ask him to stay” he said, quieter. “He just did.”  

“I know” Nano said. “And you haven’t asked him to go either.”  

That, Dylan couldn’t respond to.  

After a while, Nano leaned forward to grab the remote, flipping on some rerun with the volume low.  

But before he settled back, he said, almost too lightly  

“You don’t have to rush it. But don’t run from it either.”  

Then he rested his head on Dylan’s shoulder, like he always did, like nothing had changed.  

And Dylan, despite himself, leaned into him. “You think he will want that”  

“We never know that phi. But that doesn’t mean we will shut out heart.”  

Dylan sighs deeply. He doesn’t wanna shut his heart based on his fear.  

Dylan wasn’t known for soft gestures. He didn’t coo. He didn’t cling. His affection came buried under sarcasm and well-placed jabs and everyone in MARS had come to accept that as fact.  

So, when he shoved a protein bar into Jun’s hand after a long rehearsal with a scoff, “Don’t skip meals like a dumbass” no one blinked.  

But when he added, quieter, “...I noticed you didn’t eat” that was new.  

Jun blinked down at the bar, then up at Dylan, who was already halfway across the room, pretending to scroll through his phone with a flush creeping up the back of his neck.  

Later that day, in the studio, Dylan hovered behind Jun longer than usual while Jun reviewed his vocal takes. He didn’t say anything but he kept fidgeting, hands brushing the edge of Jun’s chair, foot tapping unnecessarily close.  

Jun turned to look at him, and Dylan shrugged. “Your third take was better than the fifth.”  

Jun’s brow lifted. “You were listening that closely?”  

“I’m bored” Dylan muttered. “And your pitch was off for like half a second.”  

But he didn’t walk away.  

That night in the MARS house, Dylan dumped his hoodie on the couch next to Jun, then flopped onto the floor in front of him, arms sprawled. He stayed there silently for a while, then reached back, catching the hem of Jun’s pants and tugging slightly.  

Jun glanced down. Dylan didn’t look up. “You can touch my hair or something. I’m not gonna stop you.”  

It was the softest invitation Jun had ever received.  

He leaned forward slowly, running his fingers through Dylan’s hair. Dylan made a low, barely-there sound in the back of his throat and leaned into the touch like it was all he had needed all day.  

They stayed like that, Jun sitting on the couch, Dylan splayed on the carpet, heart rate steadying under Jun’s fingers.  

Later, Dylan wandered into the kitchen just before bed and made a cup of tea, the kind Jun always forgot he liked. He slid it across the table without meeting his eyes.  

“You better sleep tonight” Dylan muttered. “I’ll know if you don’t.”  

Jun watched him go, lips curling in a smile too soft to speak out loud.  

Messy. Awkward. A little grumpy.  

But unmistakably love.  

The next morning, when Jun returned from a solo schedule earlier than expected, Dylan was curled on the living room couch, hoodie sleeves pushed up, a pencil behind his ear as he scribbled notes onto a lyric draft. The house was quiet, Nano and Pepper still out, Thame probably with Po  

Jun stood in the doorway for a moment, watching.  

Just… watching.  

And for once, he didn’t try to play it cool or act like he hadn’t missed this quiet version of Dylan, focused and unguarded.  

Instead, he walked over, gently took the notebook from Dylan’s hand and set it aside.  

“Jun?”  

“Let me” Jun murmured.  

And then he climbed onto the couch behind Dylan, carefully arranging them until Dylan’s back was resting against his chest, both of them tucked under a throw blanket like they did it every day.  

Dylan blinked, stiff at first. “You good?”  

“Yeah” Jun said softly. “Just… this, okay?”  

A beat passed. Then Dylan nodded. “Yeah.”  

Jun didn’t say much after that. He just wrapped his arms around Dylan’s waist, hands resting warm and steady just beneath his ribs. He tucked his face into the side of Dylan’s neck and breathed in like he had been needing it.  

And Dylan melted. Slowly, steadily, breath by breath. The tension in his spine eased. His head tilted slightly to let Jun in closer. His hand slid back to rest on Jun’s thigh.  

They stayed like that for a long time, no kisses, no words, just heartbeats syncing.  

Later, at dinner, Jun made sure Dylan’s bowl had more chili flakes than the others. Just the way he liked it.  

He didn’t say anything about it but Dylan noticed. He didn’t finish the food but he left the spoon clean and leaned his shoulder against Jun’s when they were doing dishes.  

And that night, when Jun walked into their room to find Dylan already curled under the covers, hoodie sleeves pulled over his hands and hair a mess, he didn’t hesitate.  

He climbed in behind him, slid an arm around Dylan’s middle and whispered into the dark “I liked the tea last night. Thank you.”  

Dylan didn’t say anything. But Jun felt the way his hand curled over his wrist, holding it there.  

The bloom was quiet. But it was real.  

And maybe neither of them was ready to name it yet.  

But it was growing, wild and warm, in all the spaces between them.  

Dylan had started to hope that one day, soon, he would be able to say it.  

To bring up the bond. The mark that hadn’t been bitten. The fact that Jun had stayed with him through every moment of his first heat, had taken care of him, held him, fed him but still hadn’t claimed him.  

They hadn’t talked about it. Not once.  

But Jun kept holding him at night.  

Kept folding his laundry when he didn’t ask. Kept leaving post-it notes on the fridge with reminders and doodles of his name in cursive. Kept walking beside him when the others moved ahead.  

And Dylan... was almost ready.  

Almost.  

That morning was slow, and sweet. A Sunday with no schedules until the evening shoot. Dylan had woken to Jun pressing coffee into his hands, and a pack of heat-safe vitamins he must have picked up just for him.  

They didn’t talk much, just sat shoulder to shoulder on the couch, watching something dumb on mute while their knees brushed.  

Jun’s presence was steady, quiet, grounding.  

It made Dylan’s chest ache in a way he couldn’t explain not painful, just... full.  

Later, as they packed up for the studio, Dylan stole a glance while Jun tied his boots.  

“I think I wanna talk soon” Dylan said softly.  

Jun looked up, not alarmed, just curious. “Yeah?”  

“Not now,” Dylan said quickly. “But… soon.”  

Jun gave a small nod, warm. “Whenever you’re ready. I will listen.”  

Dylan smiled.  

The shoot was chaos. Some company-wide collaboration, half a dozen idol groups packed into one white-walled studio, stylists buzzing everywhere, cameras flashing. MARS was pushed into a room with two other boy groups and one co-ed unit.  

Dylan held himself together fine until someone entered just after touch-up.  

An omega, older, graceful, expensive in the way fame clung to her. She swept in like she owned the room.  

Dylan didn’t notice her at first, until she walked right up to Jun.  

“Jun,” she smiled, voice velvet-sweet. “I didn’t know you would be here.”  

Jun blinked. “...P'Gam?”  

Dylan turned, slow. Gam . He knew that name. A former co-star of Jun’s during his early acting days. Rumors had once bloomed about the two of them.  

She reached out, hand brushing Jun’s forearm. “Still using that cologne I like” she teased. “Some habits never die.”  

Jun chuckled softly. Not flirtatious, not welcoming, just polite. “Didn’t realize I still had this bottle.”  

She leaned in, close enough that Dylan had to look away. “Some scents suit you too well to forget.”  

Dylan’s stomach turned, sharp and fast.  

She glanced at him, finally. Then at Jun again. “Well. I will see you after the shoot. I’m sure they will put us on the same rotation. Like old times.”  

She winked. Then vanished back into the crowd.  

Jun turned back to Dylan. Gave him a smile.  

But Dylan wasn’t looking at him. Not really.   

He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t jealous, not exactly.  

But the wound of what they hadn’t said cracked a little wider.  

Gam had touched Jun like she had a claim. And Jun hadn’t pulled away.  

Because he didn’t have to. Because technically- officially- no one had claimed anyone.  

Dylan felt the familiar ache creep back in, worse now that he had dared to hope.  

Worse because Jun had promised he would listen. But what if he heard it and changed?  

What if it was too much?  

What if Dylan was too much?  

That night, Jun didn’t press.  

They rode home in silence, side by side in the van.  

And when Jun reached for his hand, like always, Dylan let him.  

Because Jun still stayed .  

Even if he hadn’t marked .  

Even if someone else once thought she had a right to him.  

Even if Dylan wasn’t ready to bring it up again.  

Yet.  

The studio buzzed with activity, lights adjusted, cameras framed, stylists fluffing and fussing.  

Jun stood near the wardrobe rack, flipping through fabric swatches with Gam at his side. Their voices were low, casual, professional but with an easy familiarity born of years spent working together.  

“I still remember that scene where you almost tripped,” Gam teased, holding up a silver jacket. “You blamed the director but we all knew it was your balance.”  

Jun laughed softly, shaking his head. “I was distracted. You made me nervous.”  

Gam smiled, eyes warm. “You have always been good at hiding it.”  

They spoke like old friends, no romantic sparks, just that comfortable closeness that Dylan had never been a part of.  

Across the room, Dylan lingered near the makeup stations, clutching a water bottle he barely drank.  

He watched Jun with Gam, his laughter, the way Jun leaned in when she talked. The light flickering in Jun’s eyes, a softness Dylan rarely saw reserved for anyone but himself.  

But today it was different.  

Dylan’s stomach tightened with something raw and uneasy.  

He knew Jun wasn’t marked. They hadn’t sealed anything official. Jun hadn’t bitten him. The bond wasn’t fully theirs.  

And yet, watching them, Dylan felt like an outsider.  

Like he might lose Jun any second.  

Even though Jun hadn’t given him reason to believe otherwise.  

Even though Jun stayed. Always stayed.  

Gam’s voice floated to him as she said, “You’re looking good, Jun. Better than ever.”  

Jun grinned. “Thanks.”  

Dylan’s fingers curled around the water bottle.  

He remembered how Jun cared for him during his heat, the nights wrapped in warmth, the quiet moments where words weren’t needed.  

But he also remembered the silence about the bond.  

About the mark. About the future.  

Later, Dylan retreated to a corner, pulling out his phone but not really looking at it.  

He felt small, invisible, like a ghost haunting a room where the past still lingered.  

He wanted to trust Jun.  

He did trust Jun.  

But the ache of uncertainty ate him.  

Because Gam had history.  

Because Jun hadn’t chosen.  

Because Dylan feared that one day, he might have to let go.  

From across the room, Jun glanced toward Dylan and gave a subtle nod, a silent promise of presence.  

But Dylan wasn’t sure he was ready to believe it yet.  

The air between Dylan and Jun had shifted.  

It wasn’t loud arguments or slammed doors.  

It was a quiet retreat.  

Jun noticed the way Dylan avoided eye contact, how his smiles didn’t reach his eyes anymore, how he slipped past him in the hall without a word.  

Whenever Jun tried to reach out, asking softly if Dylan wanted to talk or simply checking if he was okay, Dylan’s answers were short, distracted.  

“Yeah, I’m fine.”  

“Nothing’s wrong.”  

But the truth was something Jun could feel pressing just beneath the surface, like static in the air before a storm.  

At practice, Jun caught Dylan’s gaze, hoping to bridge the gap.  

Dylan looked away.  

In the group room, Jun sat beside Dylan during breaks, careful not to crowd him but still close.  

Dylan shifted, inching his body away.  

When Jun reached out to touch his arm lightly, Dylan pulled back, just enough.  

Jun’s voice softened, tentative “Dylan, please talk to me.”  

Dylan’s throat tightened. His voice came out small, strained.  

“I’m sorry. I just need space.”  

Jun blinked, heart tightening. “Space? For how long?”  

Dylan didn’t answer.  

Instead, he picked up his bag and left the room quickly, leaving Jun sitting alone with a thousand questions.  

Jun wanted to understand. Wanted to help.  

But Dylan’s silence was a wall.  

And for now, Jun didn’t know how to get past it.  

Jun sat alone in the dim corner of the practice room, the buzz of the other members’ laughter and chatter fading into the background. His fingers traced the rim of a water bottle, the cool plastic grounding him but his mind was spinning.  

Dylan.  

The space growing between them felt like an impossible cubic.  

Jun wondered if he was the cause.  

Was he too much? Too intense with his alpha energy? Had his careful, quiet ways of protecting and guiding Dylan become a weight?  

The thought made his chest tighten.  

He replayed every moment, the nights spent wrapped around Dylan during his heat, the careful touches, the whispered reassurances.  

Had it overwhelmed him?  

Had Jun pushed too hard?  

Jun’s gaze dropped to his hands.  

Was love supposed to feel like this? uncertain, fragile, full of doubt?  

He wanted to reach out. To bridge the silence. But every time he saw Dylan flinch away, every time his hand went unanswered, a small, sharp voice in Jun’s mind whispered, Maybe he doesn’t want you.  

The alpha in him shatters. He wanted to protect Dylan from pain, from fear.  

But maybe he was the source of it.  

Jun swallowed hard, voice barely a whisper to the empty room.  

“I’m sorry if I’m too much.”  

He closed his eyes, willing the distance to shrink. To let Dylan know he was still here. Still willing to wait. Still hoping Dylan would find his way back.  

Jun spotted Dylan sitting alone on the couch in the group lounge, headphones tucked around his neck, eyes fixed on his phone but body tense, like he was ready to bolt.  

Jun’s heart clenched. This was his chance, maybe the only one today.  

He took a slow breath, steadying himself.  

Quietly, he walked over and sat down at the far edge of the couch, careful not to crowd Dylan.  

From his bag, Jun pulled out a small package, Dylan’s favorite snack, something he had picked up on the way back from rehearsal.  

Jun cleared his throat softly.  

“Hey” he said gently, offering the snack.  

Dylan glanced up briefly, expression unreadable.  

Without a word, Dylan shifted away, pulling his hoodie tighter around himself.  

Jun swallowed the lump in his throat. He reached out, fingers hovering a moment above Dylan’s arm then pulled back.  

The space between them felt like an ocean.  

Jun forced a soft smile, voice barely above a whisper. “Whenever you are ready… I’m here.”  

Dylan didn’t respond.  

Jun stood, feeling the weight of the silence crushing down on him.  

He wanted to stay.  

To hold Dylan close and tell him everything would be okay. But instead, he left the room, footsteps heavy and slow. Outside, Jun paused, letting out a shaky breath.  

Failure stung bitterly but beneath it was something stronger.  

Determination.  

He wouldn’t give up.  

Not on Dylan.  

Not yet.  

Dylan sat on the edge of his bed, the dim light of the room casting long shadows across the scattered lyric sheets and empty coffee cups. His phone buzzed silently beside him, a message from Jun glowing softly on the screen.  

“Whenever you’re ready… I’m here.”  

He stared at the words, feeling both the warmth and the weight behind them.  

He wanted to reach out. He wanted to say something, anything.  

But the fear rooted deep inside his chest clenched tight, squeezing the breath from his lungs.  

Am I too much?  

That question echoed louder than any music he had ever written.  

Since the moment his heat had started when he had first smelled Jun’s scent like a lifeline, the day everything changed, Dylan had felt something he never expected vulnerability.  

He was used to being sharp, in control, a fortress of sarcasm and deflection.  

But Jun had seen past all that.  

He had stayed through the fever and the trembling, held Dylan when he was raw and broken and utterly exposed.  

And yet.  

Dylan still pulled away.  

Not because he didn’t want Jun.  

But because the idea of leaning in felt terrifying.  

What if Jun stayed because he felt obligated?  

What if this was just a kindness, not a choice?  

What if Jun’s alpha presence overwhelmed him?  

And if Dylan let himself depend on Jun… what if he lost him?  

The thought was unbearable.  

So instead, Dylan built walls.  

Silent, cold, impenetrable.  

He told himself it was for Jun’s sake as much as his own.  

But alone in the quiet room, the truth was stark and undeniable.  

He missed Jun.  

More than words could say.  

More than his pride would admit.  

More than the fear would allow.  

He closed his eyes, clutching the phone.  

How do I tell him that?  

How do I let him in without breaking?  

For now, all Dylan could do was wait.  

Wait for the courage.  

Wait for the moment when the walls came down.  

And hope that Jun was still there, waiting to catch him.  

The phone buzzed sharply in Jun’s hand as he wrapped up a quick meeting at the agency.  

He glanced at the screen, eyes widening.  

The message was simple, but electrifying  

“Offer received: lead role in upcoming drama. Co-star: Gam.”  

Jun’s heart leapt.  

This was the big one he had been waiting for, promising, challenging and yes, paired with Gam, the actress from his past who had recently resurfaced in his life.  

A thrill bubbled up inside him, mixing with a flicker of apprehension.  

I have to tell Dylan.  

He barely paused to grab his things, practically sprinting through the hallways.  

By the time Jun burst through the front door of the MARS house, his grin was wide, the words already rehearsing in his mind.  

He called out, “Dylan, You won’t believe this!”  

But the silence that met him was deafening. He kicked off his shoes, hurried to their shared room and froze. The bed was untouched, sheets neatly made.  

Dylan wasn’t there. Jun’s chest tightened.  

Where are you?  

His excitement twisted into worry.  

He set the message down on the nightstand and paced the room, glancing at his phone, debating whether to call or wait.  

The silence of the empty room wrapped around him like a cold shadow.  

The big news suddenly felt heavy in his hands.  

The choreography room was filled with the hum of footsteps, mirrored walls catching the quick snapshots of sweat and breath. Dylan had just hit his mark, chest heaving, when choreographer clapped twice and waved them to a break.  

“Good job” Po said, eyes flicking down to his camera. “Oh, and congrats to Jun. He just got the lead role in that new drama.”  

The team murmured in excitement.  

Nano immediately perked up. “Wait, the big one ? The college romance?”  

Po nodded. “Yup. Confirmed just now. Co-lead is Gam.”  

Dylan froze mid-sip from his water bottle.  

The name hit him like a slap.  

Gam.  

He had heard it before. Smiled politely when people brought her up. The glamorous, talented actress Jun had worked. The one fans used to ship with him. The one who just reappeared backstage last week, all glossy smiles and easy confidence. The one Jun still looked at with that quiet fondness, friendly, familiar, effortless.  

Dylan’s mouth went dry.  

He set his bottle down.  

Somewhere across the room, Thame let out a whoop, Per already plotting jokes for Jun’s congratulation post. And Dylan… he just stood there. Still.  

It wasn’t jealousy.  

Not at first.  

It was fear.  

A cold, creeping fear that wound around his chest and squeezed tight.  

Of course he would get paired with her.  

They looked good together. They had history. Chemistry. The kind of spark that directors loved and cameras adored.  

And what did he and Jun have?  

A messy, fragile bond half-forged in the heat of instinct and fever. No mark. No promises. No talks.  

Just staying .  

Jun had stayed.  

But he never chose .  

Dylan blinked back the sudden burn in his eyes.  

“Be right back” he muttered, already slipping past the others, ignoring Nano’s call and Per’s puzzled look. He didn’t want to talk. Didn’t want to ask. Didn’t want to see Jun walk in with that lit-up smile, proud and glowing.  

Because Dylan knew he wouldn’t be able to match it.  

He didn’t know where his feet were taking him until he was in the hallway, shoes on, walking out into the gray of late afternoon.  

He didn’t go far. Just far enough to breathe.  

To sit under the tree outside the studio, knees pulled to his chest.  

To be alone with the ache building deep inside.  

You are not his. You never were.  

He hugged his arms around himself, hating the cold thought, hating how much it hurt.  

Jun barely remembered the drive home.  

The call had ended with congratulations, managers already plotting the press release, and Jun could hardly keep the grin off his face. It was a good script. Great director. Huge exposure. And........  

Gam  

He blinked the thought away. It didn’t matter. It had been years since anything like that. What mattered was Dylan . His first thought, when they confirmed, his thought only was I want to tell Dylan.  

He’ll be proud.  

He always is.  

His hand still tingled from where he had gripped his phone too tightly. Excitement had filled his chest like helium, light and lifting. He barely took off his shoes as he stepped into the group house, already calling out.  

“Dylan?”  

No answer.  

He checked the kitchen. Empty. Practice room? Maybe still there?  

Their room.  

He opened the door, heartbeat fluttering.  

But...........  

The light was off.  

The bed was made. Too clean. Too untouched. The faint scent of Dylan lingered, but not fresh, muted, like it hadn’t been renewed in hours. Jun blinked at the absence. It felt… off.  

He checked his phone, left a text.  

There was a note on the bedside table. Just a scrap torn from his lyric pad.  

“Staying at my place for a while. Don’t wait.” 
– D 

Jun sat down slowly.  

The high from earlier drained out of him in a slow, cold trickle.  

He stared at the note again, fingers curling around it. No emojis. No explanation. Just distance. Finality. Like a door had closed without sound.  

His chest ached with confusion.  

Had he done something? Had he pushed too hard?  

He reached for his phone again, opening their chat. Typing.  

Then deleting. Typing again.  

Jun: 
Hey. I just got back. Was gonna tell you something. Are you okay? 

He stared at the message. Sent it. Watched it sit there, unread.  

The silence rang louder than anything.  

He leaned back, gazing at the ceiling, the dark room suddenly too big. Too empty. Dylan had filled it. Even in silence, even in sleep. The way he curled toward Jun at night, the way his scent settled around their shared pillows. It had become something shared.  

And now gone.  

He lay back fully, the note still in hand, chest tight.  

Where did I lose you?  

The silence in his apartment wasn’t comforting this time.  

He sat cross-legged on the couch, hoodie sleeves pulled over his hands, flicking through the same playlist over and over again without actually pressing play. The lamp cast a soft gold glow against the far wall. Everything felt distant.  

He could still feel Jun’s warmth in the back of his mind, like a memory he hadn’t meant to cling to.  

The ache in his chest hadn’t gone away. He should have stayed at the dorm. He should have said something.  

But the moment Po casually mentioned Gam’s name during practice “He will be with Gam again, can you believe it? Big project, right?” the room had tilted.  

He didn’t hear the rest. Just her name. Just the implication.  

Again.  

That meant history. Intimacy. A chapter already written without him.  

And he hated it. Hated that it twisted in his gut like some jealous, feral thing. Hated that it made him feel small and unstable, like he wasn’t enough. Like even now, after heat and vulnerability and Jun holding him through every crash and fever, he still had no right to ask for anything.  

They weren’t even bonded.  

Jun hadn’t bitten him.  

Not because he didn’t care Dylan knew that. Felt that. Jun had waited. Always waited.  

But that didn’t stop the fear. 
What if Jun never meant to stay? What if everything they shared was just heat, biological pull and Jun deserved someone like her? Someone polished, calm, media-trained, not someone who ran away from their own feelings. 

He curled further into the hoodie, resting his forehead on his knees.  

The apartment was too quiet.  

Too still.  

He missed Jun’s scent.  

Missed Jun humming in the kitchen. Missed the way he walked into a room like the walls bent for him. Missed being close enough to feel that heat, safe, steady, grounding.  

He could still feel Jun’s fingers brushing through his hair the night before the heat. Could still hear his voice, whispering, “I have got you, Dyl. I have got you.”  

He had no idea if he could do this without that.  

And yet here he was. Alone.  

Choosing distance because staying felt like weakness. Because asking for reassurance felt selfish.  

He got up slowly, padded barefoot to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. Avoided the mirror. His cheeks were flushed, eyes a little glassy.  

He hadn’t slept well.  

He didn’t know how to, without Jun wrapped around him like a promise.  

Dylan leaned against the sink, gripping the edges, and whispered to himself, “You wanted space. So, sit in it.”  

But it didn’t feel like clarity.  

It felt like loss.  

And worst of all he wasn’t sure Jun would come after him.  

Not again.  

Dylan stared at the message on his phone long after it came in.  

Junnie 2:12 AM 
You okay? 
Do you need anything? 

He had read it four times already.  

Jun never said much when he was worried. He didn’t pry. He just… reached out, in quiet, steady ways that made Dylan ache.  

He didn’t reply. He wanted to.  

But he didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know how to explain that every time he tried to write, the words curled back on themselves too sharp, too vulnerable.  

He turned his phone face down on the table and curled up tighter on the couch.  

The next morning, there was a knock at the door. Soft, familiar.  

Dylan’s heart jumped in his chest, even though part of him already knew who it was.  

He didn’t move right away. Let it go quiet. Then another knock gentler this time, like Jun wasn’t sure if he should even be here.  

Dylan exhaled, got up and opened the door.  

Jun stood there, hoodie sleeves pushed up, hair still damp like he hadn’t fully dried off after his shower. His eyes looked a little tired but warm as always. In his hands, a small paper bag.  

“…Hi” Jun said softly. “I brought those crackers you like. And some fruit. I wasn’t sure…”  

Dylan stepped aside silently, letting him in.  

“Thanks” he said, voice neutral. He tried not to make eye contact.  

Jun placed the bag gently on the table and looked around the small apartment, like he was searching for something, some sign that Dylan was okay. Or maybe just permission to stay.  

“Sorry for just showing up” Jun said, not quite meeting Dylan’s eyes. “You didn’t reply, and I… just wanted to make sure.”  

“I’m fine” Dylan said too quickly, too flat.  

Jun nodded slowly. “Okay.”  

Silence pressed between them.  

Dylan walked into the kitchen, taking the crackers out, fiddling with the bag just to keep his hands busy. He could feel Jun’s gaze following his every move, gentle, patient, but confused.  

He could almost hear the thoughts behind those eyes: What did I do? What did I miss?  

Jun didn’t ask. Didn’t push. He just said, “I won’t stay long. I just wanted to see you.”  

Dylan’s throat tightened. He wanted to say please stay but instead he gave a small nod, eyes still trained on the counter.  

“You look tired” Jun murmured after a moment.  

“So do you” Dylan replied quietly.  

Jun smiled faintly. “Yeah. Missed my best pillow.”  

That almost broke him.  

Dylan’s hand clenched slightly on the cracker bag but he didn’t turn.  

“…Thanks for dropping by” he managed to say, voice even but distant. “I have just been… trying to catch up on rest. That’s all.”  

Jun hesitated. Then said “Okay. I will go.” He doesn’t want to  

Dylan didn’t stop him. Couldn’t.  

He heard the door open. The soft pad of footsteps.  

Then  

“I’m around, Dyl. Whenever you are ready.”  

And the door clicked shut.  

Dylan stood frozen in the kitchen for a long time, arms tight around himself, the sound of Jun’s voice echoing in his chest like something he couldn’t hold.  

The crackers sat unopened on the counter. Still warm from Jun’s hands.  

The apartment was too quiet once Jun left.  

Dylan stood in the middle of it, the silence thick around him. The bag of snacks still sat on the table like proof that Jun had been here, and Dylan hadn’t stopped him from walking away.  

He should have said something.  

“Don’t go.” “Stay.” “I’m scared.”  

But instead, he had hidden behind distance and neutral tones. Again.  

He sat on the couch with the crackers unopened on his lap. His body still ached faintly in the aftershocks of his heat but this ache was different. deeper. Emotional. The memory of Jun’s warmth haunted the cushions. The way he used to stretch across the bed and let Dylan curl up into his chest, no questions asked. How his hand would always find Dylan’s hip, even in sleep, as if his alpha instincts knew he needed grounding.  

And now…  

Now Jun had shown up, with snacks and worried eyes and Dylan had shut him out.  

“Because you were scared. Because you don’t want to need him so much. Because he is not yours. Not really.”  

Dylan pressed the heel of his palms to his eyes.  

He wanted to talk.  

But he didn’t know how to say I’m jealous. I’m afraid you will love someone else. I know you haven’t bitten me and maybe that’s for the best, but it hurts anyway.  

He wasn’t sure which part of it was fair. Which part was selfish. Which part Jun would understand without feeling trapped.  

But his heart was heavy and his fingers hovered over his phone more than once that evening typing Jun’s name, erasing it, typing it again.  

He didn’t send anything.  

Instead, he lay on the couch long after the lights were off, phone on his chest, listening to the stillness.  

He missed Jun.  

He had never stopped missing him, even when they slept in the same bed.  

Jun closed the dorm door behind him quietly.  

The apartment was dim, a few hallway lights left on, a quiet hum of someone’s music leaking from another room. But it felt hollow. Like the edges of the home had shifted without Dylan in it.  

He stood there for a moment, holding onto the strap of his bag like it might keep him grounded.  

He had wanted to hug him. To say you don’t have to hide from me.  

But Dylan hadn’t looked up. Hadn’t let him in.  

Jun dropped his bag near their shared room his room, for now. The other half of the bed was cold, unmade. He sat at the edge of it and looked at the place where Dylan usually curled.  

His scent had faded a little but Jun still caught traces of it on the sheets. That distinct mix warmth, the one that had driven him feral during heat but now only filled him with longing.  

He laid back, hand spread on the empty mattress.  

Was he too much? Too close? Had he crossed a line by staying through Dylan’s heat when they weren’t bonded?  

Jun stared at the ceiling, heart thudding heavy.  

He didn’t regret any of it. He would stay through a thousand heats if Dylan needed him.  

But something had changed. And Jun didn’t know how to reach him now.  

He wanted to call. To ask, do you still want me here? Even when I’m not touching you? Even when I’m not your alpha in name?  

But he didn’t want to pressure. Dylan was too important to risk pushing too hard.  

So instead, Jun curled onto Dylan’s side of the bed, closed his eyes, and hoped the quiet between them would eventually become something they could speak through.  

Dylan left before the others could notice.  

The second the choreographer called for a break, Dylan slipped through the side door, hoodie pulled low and steps too fast to be casual. He didn’t wait for Jun. Didn’t even check if he was being followed. His heart was pounding too hard for that.  

He needed out.  

Out of the mirrored room where Jun’s scent still clung to his skin.  

Out of the walls that echoed with the laughter of the other members who didn’t have bond marks or aching uncertainty to carry.  

He didn’t know why it hit him so suddenly maybe it was the way Jun had handed him a water bottle during rehearsal, fingers brushing too gently. Or maybe it was the way Gam’s voice echoed from Jun’s phone during a break. Friendly. Familiar.  

It didn’t matter.  

He just knew he couldn’t breathe until he got away.  

“Where’s Dylan?”  

Jun’s question was too sharp, too sudden and Nano blinked at him mid-sip of an energy drink.  

“He said he was getting some air,” Nano replied. “Didn’t he say something to you?”  

Jun frowned. No.  

He checked his phone. No messages.  

Checked the hall. Empty.  

His stomach twisted.  

He had noticed the tension building, the way Dylan stopped looking at him between dances, the way his smile stayed fixed for the cameras but never turned soft just for Jun anymore.  

Jun swallowed hard and turned back toward rehearsal but the rest of the session passed in a haze. His head wasn’t in the routine. Every note of the music felt off. Unrooted.  

The house was quiet when Dylan slipped in. Of course it would be, he carefully picked the time.  

Their room was darker than usual, empty. A fresh t-shirt was folded on Jun’s bed, probably something Jun meant to wear after practice.  

Dylan hesitated. Then stepped in.  

He opened Jun’s drawer with shaking hands. Pulled out a hoodie, soft, oversized, still heavy with Jun’s scent. Then a shirt. Then, irrationally, the sweatpants Jun always wore when he was too tired to do laundry.  

He pressed the hoodie to his face, breathing deep. His eyes stung.  

He hadn’t wanted to come here but he needed something of Jun’s , something to hold, something to remind him he hadn’t imagined all of it. That Jun had once stayed with him through his heat and called him baby with so much warmth it cracked Dylan wide open.  

Now it was just a hoodie.  

He tucked the clothes in his bag and left as silently as he had come.  

The lights were off.  

Jun’s hoodie was wrapped around Dylan like armor, his nose buried in the collar. The scent filled his lungs. It made him want to cry and sleep at the same time.  

He didn’t deserve Jun’s scent. Not when he kept running.  

But he needed it anyway.  

Wrapped in the soft weight of fabric, Dylan lay curled on his couch, staring at the ceiling. Silent. Still.  

I miss you. Even when you are everywhere on me.  

The meeting had gone well. Better than expected, actually.  

The producer liked him. The director said he brought something “raw” to the screen test. Even Gam had been polite, professional, no weird energy between them despite the years since their last project.  

It should have felt good. It did , in a quiet, career-focused part of his mind.  

But the second he stepped out of the studio, his first thought wasn’t celebrate. It was Dylan .  

He didn’t even reply to my message yesterday, Jun thought, glancing at his phone again as he crossed the street. No blue ticks. No read notification.  

But he still turned toward Dylan’s apartment building.  

Stopped by a convenience store on the way, grabbing the yogurt drinks Dylan liked, the brand of snacks he always searched after stressful shoots. And then, he hesitated before stuffing one of his favorite hoodies into the bag. The navy one Dylan used to steal in the group house.  

Soft and warm and still holding the scent of Jun’s body wash.  

He stood outside Dylan’s door for a full minute before knocking.  

No answer.  

He knocked again, softer.  

Still nothing.  

Jun sighed, eyes lowering to the floor. He didn’t know if Dylan was asleep, avoiding him or just didn’t want to open the door. The ache curled deep in his chest regardless.  

Carefully, he crouched, unpacked the bag and placed the contents just outside the door.  

The snacks. The drink.  

And finally, his hoodie, folded carefully, like a quiet offering.  

He stared at the door for a second longer. Then whispered, even though no one could hear him-  

“I hope you’ll wear it tonight. We’ve got that photoshoot… and it’s gonna be cold on set.”  

Then he turned and left.  

Jun had been watching the front door of Dylan’s building from the van window since they pulled up. His stomach had been tight the whole ride, fingers fidgeting with the hem of his coat.  

He shouldn’t have expected anything. But he had.  

He had imagined it so vividly, Dylan walking out in the navy hoodie, maybe still sleepy-eyed, hair tossed, that soft, guarded look he always wore when he was feeling too much.  

He had hoped that the hoodie might be a silent reply. A small, stubborn thread still tying them together.  

But when Dylan finally came down, he wasn’t wearing it.  

He wasn’t even carrying it.  

Just a dark overshirt with stiff sleeves and noise-cancelling headphones stuffed in. No eye contact. No pause. He climbed into the van, sat in the far corner and kept his head down like Jun wasn’t even there.  

Jun swallowed hard.  

Maybe he forgot.  

Maybe he just didn’t want it.  

Still, Jun tried. His voice was soft, careful, just a touch of hope in it.  

“Did you… get the bag I left for you?”  

Dylan didn’t answer. Didn’t flinch. Didn’t even take his headphones off.  

Jun blinked, heart skipping uncomfortably. He looked away, forcing himself to swallow the sting.  

He tried again after rehearsal. They were walking back to the dressing rooms, the corridor dim and quiet, staff long gone.  

Jun reached out, fingers almost grazing Dylan’s sleeve.  

“Hey… can we.....”  

But Dylan stepped away.  

A small move. Barely even dramatic. But it cracked something sharp in Jun’s ribs.  

Dylan didn’t say a word. He just kept walking. And Jun… stood there.  

Left in the quiet hallway with his hand still half-raised and the weight of - I don’t know what I did but I wish I could fix it - crushing his chest.  

Dylan hadn’t even looked in the bag at first.  

He left it outside until night fell, then finally opened it with shaking hands.  

Snacks. That dumb drink he always bought when he was tired. And the hoodie.  

That hoodie.  

Warm. Worn. Still carrying Jun's scent. Still too much like home. He stared at it for a long time, heart aching. And then shoved it into the closet.  

Because wearing it felt like lying.  

Because if he put it on, he would want to crawl right back into Jun’s arms. And he wasn’t sure Jun wanted him there anymore. Not with Gam back. Not with the way things had gone silent between them.  

Not with a bond mark still unclaimed.  

So, Dylan didn’t wear the hoodie.  

He didn’t open the door.  

And when Jun tried to talk to him again, kind, careful, ever-patient, he kept walking.  

Because he didn’t know how to say, I want you to fight for me.  

Because he didn’t trust himself not to fall apart if Jun didn’t.  

The dorm was dark.  

The others were out or asleep, the living room washed in the soft glow of a streetlamp filtering through the curtains.  

Jun sat on the floor in front of the sofa, his head against the cushion, fists pressed tight against his knees.  

Dylan’s absence had become a ticking bomb, he could feel where Dylan should be, in every breath, every corner of the room. His scent was gone. His laugh. His warmth.  

The silence was louder than anything Jun had ever known.  

He had tried patience. Respect. He had tried space.  

And now… he couldn’t anymore.  

Jun stood abruptly, eyes burning.  

Fuck it.  

He grabbed his keys.  

Jun barely remembered the drive. Just the sharp twist in his chest. The panic. The pain.  

The cold metal of Dylan’s apartment door when he knocked, once, twice.  

“Dylan.”  

No answer.  

He tried again, this time louder, hand shaking.  

“Dylan, please.”  

Still nothing.  

His voice cracked when he called the third time.  

“I’m not leaving. I can’t do this anymore, I need to know. I need to see you.”  

A pause.  

Then, slow, soft footsteps inside.  

Jun’s breath hitched.  

“I’m sorry” Jun whispered, stepping closer. “I know you don’t owe me anything. But I miss you so much I can’t sleep. I can’t breathe.”  

Dylan didn’t say anything. So, Jun kept going, the words tumbling out raw and desperate.  

“I don’t know what I did to lose you. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want this distance. I.....I never signed up for a bond, not at first but now I...”  

He broke. Voice cracking.  

“Now I wake up expecting you next to me. I reach out and it hurts when you are not there.”  

“You didn’t wear the hoodie” Jun added, small and broken. “And that’s okay. But it tore something in me, Dylan. It made me think maybe you were done. And I’m not. I’m not done.”  

The door didn’t open further.  

But Dylan was trembling.  

“Say something. Please.”  

Jun’s heart pounded so hard he thought Dylan could hear it through the door.  

He had knocked and called his name again and again, voice raw with desperation.  

“Dylan, please. I’m here. Just… open the door.”  

No answer. Only silence.  

Jun sat down on the cold floor just outside the entrance, back against the wall, eyes fixed on the door as if willing it to open.  

His breath formed clouds in the chilly air. His fingers trembled, curling around the strap of his bag.  

Time stretched thin.  

Minutes passed. Even hours.  

Then, light flickered from inside.  

The door cracked open. Dylan appeared, eyes tired but sharp, face half-hidden behind the worn navy hoodie slipping low over his head.  

Jun’s breath caught.  

That hoodie.  

The one Jun had left for him.  

It was on Dylan.  

Jun scrambled to his feet, voice desperate.  

“Dylan.....wait”  

Dylan’s eyes flicked up, startled and instinctively he tried to close the door. He didn’t expect Jun to stay there, he never imagined Jun will be there after all those times.  

But Jun was faster.  

His hand caught the edge, holding it opens gently but firmly.  

“Please don’t shut me out again.”  

Dylan’s breath hitched. He looked up, meeting Jun’s gaze fully for the first time in weeks.  

The hoodie, loose and soft, smelled like Jun’s skin and the places they had shared. His eyes swollen, he doesn’t know when he saw Jun like that.  

Words caught in the silence between them.  

Finally, Jun whispered:  

“You are wearing this… it means something, doesn’t it?”  

Dylan swallowed hard.  

The door remained half-open, the night air curling around them like a fragile promise.  

“Yeah” Dylan said quietly, voice breaking.  

“Then don’t run. Please. Don’t hide from me.”  

Jun stepped closer, eyes soft but searching, willing Dylan to stay.  

And for the first time in a long while, Dylan didn’t pull away.  

The door clicked shut behind them.  

Dylan turned quickly, moving toward the kitchen, anywhere but near Jun. He didn’t say a word, just headed for the counter, pretending to fiddle with the kettle, pretending he was fine.  

Jun didn’t buy it.  

“Are you seriously going to act like nothing happened?” Jun asked, his voice low but shaking. “You disappear, avoid me for days, and now you’re just.....making tea?”  

Dylan didn’t look at him. “It’s late. You should go.”  

Jun stepped forward, blocking the narrow hallway before Dylan could retreat again.  

“No. Not until you tell me why you left. Why you are shutting me out.”  

“Jun” Dylan warned, voice sharp, a crack barely hidden underneath. “Don’t...”  

“Don’t what?” Jun’s voice rose, hurt spilling out. “Don’t ask why it feels like I lost you? Don’t ask why you won’t even look at me after everything, after I stayed, after I held you through your heat, after I.....”  

He stopped himself. The next words were dangerously close to everything he wasn’t ready to admit.  

Dylan’s jaw tightened. His eyes flicked up then away, like he was holding back a scream.  

Jun took another step. “Dylan.”  

Dylan stepped away. No response. Moved like he needed to. He walked to his bedroom without thinking much. Maybe to hide, to run away again.  

Jun’s eyes moved past him, toward the barely ajar bedroom door. "Dylan please” he pushed it open.  

And froze.  

Inside, dim light from the bedside lamp spilled over the bed where a soft, uneven pile of fabric was stacked in. Jun’s clothes, hoodies, shirts, even an old rehearsal towel, formed a messy nest. Pillows tucked into it. A familiar scent still lingering.  

His scent.  

Jun stepped inside slowly, heart cracking with each step.  

Dylan hadn’t thrown him away.  

He was trying to keep him close, in the only way he knew how.  

Jun turned around, voice breaking.  

“You made this. For me. For us.”  

Dylan stood in the doorway, face pale, walls collapsing behind his tired eyes. He opened his mouth then closed it again, helpless.  

Jun stepped forward again, softer this time. “You don’t hate me. You didn’t want me gone.”  

“No” Dylan whispered, finally. “Never.”  

Jun’s shoulders dropped as all the tension drained out of him.  

“Then why...why push me away? What the hell did I do to make you vanish from my life without a single explanation?”  

Dylan looked down.  

“I didn’t vanish.”  

“You did . You left the dorm. You left me . You wouldn’t even look at me on set. You didn’t wear the hoodie. You wouldn’t talk....” Jun’s voice broke again. “Dylan, I’m trying here, but I can’t fight what I can’t even see.”  

Dylan’s eyes were red again but dry this time. Tired.  

“You were everything to me during heat, Jun.”  

Jun blinked, mouth parting slightly.  

Dylan kept going.  

“You gave me everything I needed. You were gentle and patient and safe. I thought that meant something to you. I thought I could hold on to that, maybe even talk about it later, when I could finally think straight again, but...”  

His voice softened, bitter.  

“Then I saw her hand on your arm, laughing like she belonged there. Like she still belonged to a version of you I never got to meet. And it hit me...I don’t know where I stand. I don’t even know if I have a place beside you outside that bed.”  

Dylan’s lip trembled. “I’m scared. Of needing you too much. Of keeping you here when you didn’t ask for this. When you didn’t... mark me.”  

Jun’s heart seized.  

Dylan finally said it.  

Finally named the ache.  

“You think I didn’t want to bite you?” Jun asked quietly, stepping closer. “You think I didn’t burn with it every time you called me yours?”  

Dylan looked at him, raw and exposed. “Then why didn’t you?”  

Jun reached up, cupped Dylan’s cheek gently. “Because I wanted you to ask me when you are not in pain. Not in heat. When you are really, truly mine. I have never been bonded to anyone. I have never wanted it with anyone. Not P'Gam. Not any of them. Just you.”  

Silence stretched.   

He reached for Dylan, hesitating mid-air  

“But I can’t read your mind. You say I stayed during heat, like it was easy. It wasn’t . It tore me apart to hold back. But I did it because I didn’t want you thinking I was using you when you were vulnerable.”  

Dylan bit his lip, eyes glassy.  

“Then why didn’t you ask me how I felt? Even once?”  

Jun looked gutted.  

“Because I thought if you regretted it, I would rather not hear it out loud.”  

That shut them both up.  

For a long moment, they just stood there.  

Breathing hard.  

Too many things between them and no map out.  

Dylan sat down slowly on the couch, like his knees couldn’t hold him anymore.  

Jun followed after a pause, kneeling in front of him, folding in, quieter now.  

“Do you regret it?” Jun asked, barely above a whisper.  

Dylan met his gaze. Eyes soft, tired.  

“No.”  

Dylan stepped into his chest and buried his face in Jun’s shoulder, hands fisting in his shirt.  

“I have always been yours” he whispered.  

Jun held him tighter than ever.  

Jun's arms were tight around him, holding him like Dylan might vanish if he let go. But Dylan didn’t vanish.  

He trembled.  

And then he broke.  

“You don’t get it” Dylan whispered against Jun’s chest. “You say all the right things. You always say them. But she.... P’Gam, she fits in your world. She is what you were supposed to have.”  

Jun pulled back slightly, just enough to see Dylan’s face. “What?”  

Dylan stepped away entirely, pacing toward the nest. His hands curled into fists.  

“You didn’t see the way people looked when her name came up. When they said you would be perfect together. When everyone smiled like it was easy. Like you two already belonged.”  

Jun’s breath caught, pain blooming in his chest.  

Dylan turned to face him, eyes glassy, voice raw. “I know I’m not easy. I don’t talk about feelings. I don’t know how to be the soft kind of omega people expect. I bite when I should bend. And I hate that”  

He stopped. Shook his head. Started again, louder this time.  

“I hate that I let myself need you. I told myself it would be temporary. That it was just a heat. That you would go back to your life and I would go back to pretending I didn’t want someone to fucking stay.”  

Jun was quiet, listening, heart breaking with every word.  

“But then you stayed. You fed me. You bathed me. You held me like I mattered. And then I saw her. I saw you with her. Smiling. Comfortable. And I thought, ‘Oh. That’s the kind of omega someone like Jun bonds.’”  

His voice cracked.  

“Not someone like me.”  

Jun took one slow step forward. “You think I don’t have fear too?”  

Dylan’s eyes flicked to him, uncertain.  

Jun’s voice was tight. “You think I haven’t questioned every damn day whether I’m doing this right? Whether I’m pushing too hard, being too much of an alpha? You think it’s easy holding back when all I want is to make you mine in every sense?”  

He stepped into Dylan’s space again, this time gently placing a hand over Dylan’s chest, right where his heart raced fast and uneven.  

“You say I belong with someone like P'Gam but she’s not the one I watched fall asleep in a hoodie two sizes too big, curled in my scent. She is not the one who made a nest out of my clothes when he thought I couldn’t see. You are.”  

Dylan blinked, lips trembling.  

Jun leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together. “You don’t have to know how to be soft. You already are, Dylan. You are soft in the way you let me in. In the way you held my hand without asking. In the way you whisper when you are half-asleep, like I’m the only one who gets to hear you.”  

A tear slid down Dylan’s cheek. “You scare the shit out of me” he whispered.  

“Good,” Jun whispered back. “You scare me too.”  

They stayed like that for a long moment. Breathing.  

Then Jun added, quieter than before: “Don’t shut me out again. Please.”  

Dylan slowly nodded. His voice was barely a whisper. “Don’t leave me behind.”  

“Never” Jun said. “Not once.”  

They didn’t speak for a while after that, words had done what they needed to. Now it was just the quiet thrum of two hearts trying to beat in sync again.  

Jun was the first to move, gently reaching for Dylan’s hand, threading their fingers together. Dylan followed the pull without resistance, letting Jun guide him back toward the small nest of clothes on the floor, layered with blankets and his scent.  

It wasn’t much.  

But it was theirs.  

Dylan hesitated just before crawling in, suddenly shy now that the storm had passed. “It’s dumb. I know.”  

Jun crouched down beside the nest and looked at him softly. “It’s perfect.”  

Dylan’s throat worked, trying not to choke on the emotion still lodged there.  

Jun climbed in first, carefully pulling Dylan down beside him. Dylan let himself be tucked close, head resting against Jun’s chest, legs tangled together instinctively.  

The room was still. The world could wait.  

Jun’s palm slid in soothing circles over Dylan’s back, just beneath the hem of the hoodie Dylan still hadn’t taken off. The fabric was warm with his body heat, and it smelled like Jun - fresh and safe.  

Dylan let out a shaky exhale, curling tighter. “I don’t know how to be someone’s.....”  

“You already are.”  

Jun’s lips pressed into Dylan’s hair, lingering. “You’re mine, Dylan. Whether we say it out loud or not. You don’t need a mark to prove it. I know you are mine.”  

Dylan didn’t respond at first.  

But then, after a long silence, he tilted his face up, eyes rimmed pink and raw but clear.  

“And you are mine” he whispered, voice cracking with it. “Even if it’s selfish.”  

Jun’s answer was a kiss. Slow. Steady. Grounding.  

And when they pulled apart, Dylan burrowed deeper into Jun’s arms and rested his cheek right over Jun’s heartbeat.  

No more hiding.  

No more pretending it didn’t hurt to be apart.  

Jun’s hand didn’t stop stroking his spine.  

The world outside could call tomorrow.  

Tonight, they had each other.  

Tonight, the nest was enough.  

The silence stretched, warm, comforting but heavy with remaining unsaid.  

Jun shifted slightly, propping himself on one elbow to look down at Dylan. His fingers found Dylan’s jaw, tracing it lightly, reverent like he didn’t dare believe Dylan was really here. That Dylan had chosen him again.  

And Dylan, still nestled in Jun’s hoodie, flushed under the attention. “What?” he whispered, voice hoarse, eyelids fluttering.  

Jun didn’t answer, not with words.  

He leaned down instead and kissed him again.  

It was slow at first, hesitant, then deepening as if their bodies remembered before their minds could. Like everything that had built up, the worry, the ache, the missing was bleeding out through their mouths. Jun’s hand cupped Dylan’s cheek, thumb brushing tenderly along the curve of it as their lips slotted together over and over.  

Dylan made a soft, broken noise, grabbing Jun’s hoodie and pulling him closer, tugging at the hem until Jun was pressed fully against him, legs tangled, breathes shared.  

The nest shifted around them, a cocoon of soft clothes and familiar smells, warm with their closeness.  

“I missed you” Jun breathed between kisses, words nearly swallowed. “I missed you so much baby, you don’t even know.”  

Dylan whimpered, hips arching up slightly, body instinctively reacting to the weight and heat of Jun above him. “I know” he gasped, fingers sliding into Jun’s hair, anchoring him. “I felt it......everywhere. It hurt so bad.”  

Jun kissed his mouth, then his cheek, then down his jaw. “I kept looking for you. I didn’t know if I was allowed to want you that much.”  

“You are” Dylan whispered. “You always were.”  

Their mouths found each other again, hungry now, sloppy and hot. Dylan moaned into it, tugging Jun closer, hands slipping beneath his shirt, palms skimming along heated skin.  

Jun groaned softly, resting his forehead to Dylan’s. “I was going crazy without you” he confessed, breathless. “Your scent was on everything but you were gone.”  

“I tried to stop wanting you” Dylan admitted, a tear slipping down his cheek. “But I just… I wanted you more.”  

Jun kissed the tear away, slow and careful.  

“You don’t ever have to go” he whispered against Dylan’s lips. “Not again.”  

And Dylan, trembling from too much feeling and not enough air, let Jun kiss him breathless all over again.  

The nest held them, tangled limbs and tangled hearts and for the first time in what felt like weeks, they let themselves melt into the love that had never really left.  

Jun’s breath slowed against Dylan’s cheek, lips brushing softly, rhythm matched to the way their chests rose and fell together in the dark room. His weight was warm and grounding over Dylan, their nest a cocoon of silence, of safety.  

Dylan’s fingers curled into the fabric of Jun’s hoodie. His hoodie. His scent.  

It was finally quiet inside his body. That ache of uncertainty, of fear, it had dulled, soothed in Jun’s arms. And yet, something else stirred beneath the calm. A hunger not just for touch, but for closeness, the real closeness. One he had denied himself for too long.  

“Jun…”  

Jun’s thumb stroked over his cheek. “Yeah?”  

Dylan looked up at him, eyes glassy, mouth swollen from kisses. His voice came out in a hush. “Touch me again.”  

Jun’s lips parted, breath catching slightly. “You sure?”  

Dylan nodded, then pressed his cheek into Jun’s palm, eyelashes fluttering. “Please. I want to feel it again… with you. Not because of instinct or heat just… because it’s you.”  

Jun’s heart cracked open in his chest, soft and searing. He leaned in, kissing Dylan’s temple, then his eyelids, slow and reverent.  

“Okay” he whispered. “I have got you.”  

His hands slid gently under Dylan’s shirt, lifting it just enough to expose skin, warm, familiar, and trembling slightly. His mouth followed, leaving a trail of kisses down Dylan’s neck, his collarbone, his chest, tucking the fabric. Each press of lips was a promise - I’m here. I’m not leaving.  

Dylan shuddered, thighs tightening around Jun’s hips as his body reacted, eager and overwhelmed. Jun’s hands were everywhere, patient and loving, sliding along the curves of Dylan’s waist, mapping his ribs, grounding him in the sensation of being wanted without desperation.  

Jun looked up from where he had started mouthing at Dylan’s stomach, lips swollen, voice rough. “You taste like home.”  

Dylan’s breath hitched. He reached down, threading his fingers into Jun’s hair.   

He kissed lower, teasing and slow, worshipful. He took his time, like Dylan was precious, something to savor. Tongue and lips, fingers curling just right, the way Dylan gasped his name, already breathless.   

Clothes leaving body one by one.  

And when Dylan started shaking, legs falling open wider, soft pleas tumbling from his lips, Jun kissed up his thigh and murmured, “I have got you, baby. You are mine.”  

Dylan arched, helpless and blissed, the weight of fear replaced by Jun’s mouth, Jun’s scent, Jun’s devotion. He whispered it again “ Please, more…” and Jun gave it all to him.  

Every kiss, every stroke, every tender bite, like he was rewriting the ache in Dylan’s chest with pleasure and promise.  

They didn’t need the heat. 
This time was just for them. 

“I want to do this right, Dylan. Not because heat told us to. Not because we were scared to lose each other. But because you want me. Still. Even when it’s messy and hard and...”  

“I do” Dylan cut in, voice hoarse. “I still want you. Every day.”  

Jun’s throat bobbed and he gently cupped Dylan’s face in both hands, holding him like he was something fragile and brave all at once.  

“I want you too” Jun said. “You are not a burden, Dylan. You never were. You make me want more.”  

Dylan’s fingers curled around Jun’s wrist, holding tight. “Then stay. Not just tonight. Not just when I fall apart.”  

Jun kissed his forehead, slow and steady. “Always.”  

Jun melted into it with a quiet hum, one hand sliding to cradle the back of Dylan’s neck, thumb brushing his nape. Dylan let himself be held, kissed, claimed in that soft way that wasn’t about heat or desperation anymore but about being known.  

When they finally pulled back, Dylan rested his forehead against Jun’s again, catching his breath.  

“Can I…” he began, voice small, a little unsure. “Can I feel you again? Properly? I know I haven’t been good at asking but… I want you.”  

Jun’s fingers tightened a little against his side, steadying both of them.  

“You can always ask me” Jun said. “And yes. You can have whatever you want.”  

Dylan nodded, the edge of his lip curling up faintly but his lashes were still low and his voice still shy when he said, “Then kiss me again. Please.”  

So, Jun did.  

He leaned in slowly, kissed him like he had all night to explore every part of his mouth, like he was savoring it. Dylan whimpered softly, one hand gripping Jun, the other sliding to his chest, nails dragging faintly like he needed to hold something real. Jun deepened the kiss only when Dylan pressed up against him, their bodies beginning to slot together again, like muscle memory waking back up.  

The warmth between them shifted, less haze, more heat.  

Jun kissed along Dylan’s jaw, behind his ear, nuzzling into the scent he missed so much. Dylan arched toward him, legs parting in silent invitation, mouth parted in a sigh when Jun’s hand slid, mapping every line of him with reverent fingertips.  

“Still okay?” Jun murmured.  

Dylan nodded instantly, voice breathy. “Better than okay. I feel like I can breathe again.”  

Jun kissed his collarbone, whispered against his skin, “You are not alone anymore.”  

Jun kissed down Dylan’s torso, pausing to mouth at the scars and freckles like every mark was sacred. Dylan trembled, overwhelmed by the softness, the way Jun worshipped him like he was something precious, not breakable. He reached for him, whispering his name like it grounded him.  

And Jun came back up, meeting his eyes. “Tell me how you want it.”  

Dylan’s voice caught in his throat but he managed, “Like this. Slow. Real. Just you.”  

Jun smiled faintly, leaning down to kiss him again, anchoring them in the nest they had made, the bond they were learning to hold gently between them.  

And as their bodies moved together, not rushed, not frantic but reverent, it was no longer about claiming or proving.  

It was about remembering what it felt like to be home in each other.  

“You are warm” Dylan murmured.  

Jun smiled faintly against his skin. “So are you.” It wasn’t a joke. There was something honest in it, like Dylan wasn’t talking about body heat anymore. And Jun heard it, tilting up just enough to meet Dylan’s eyes. His fingers tangled gently in Dylan’s hair, brushing it back from his forehead.  

“I meant what I said” Jun said softly. “You can have anything from me. Any time. You don’t have to ask twice.”  

Dylan blinked slowly, his throat working like something was lodged in it. He reached up, cupped Jun’s cheek with both hands and just looked at him.  

No teasing. No masks. Just that open-eyed stare that held so much unsaid.  

“I’m trying to believe that” Dylan whispered. “I want to. I do.”  

Jun leaned into his touch, pressing a kiss to the inside of Dylan’s wrist. “You don’t have to rush.”  

Dylan nodded, swallowing again and tugged Jun down until their foreheads met again. They lay like that for a long while bodies close, limbs tangled naturally like they had done it a hundred times. There was no need for rhythm, no goal beyond staying close. Jun’s hand stayed at Dylan’s hip, stroking slow, soothing lines. Dylan’s thumb brushed along Jun’s nape, grounding himself.  

Their bare chests rose and fell together.  

Jun kissed his cheek. Then his temple. Then his jaw. Slow, unhurried devotion in every press of his lips.  

“Why do you keep doing that?” Dylan asked, a whisper between breaths.  

“Kissing you?” Jun asked, voice low.  

Dylan nodded.  

Jun brushed their noses together and murmured, “Because I missed you. And because I can.”  

Dylan’s breathing changed first. A slight hitch as Jun’s hand stroked a little lower on his back, fingertips skimming the dip just above his hip. Still nothing over but Dylan’s body responded before he spoke. A slow press in. A subtle roll of his hips, aligning them closer.  

Jun stilled, sensing it immediately.  

His voice was low. Careful. “Dylan…”  

Dylan didn’t move at first. But then he stared at Jun. “I know”  

Jun blinked. “Know what?”  

“I want it. Want you . Now. Like this.”  

He didn’t say it in that desperate, heat-driven way. This was different. Surer. Clear. He shifted under Jun, legs parting just slightly in inviting better, hands sliding up to Jun’s shoulders, pulling him in.  

“I just need it to feel like this” Dylan murmured. “Like us . Not something that slips away when it’s over.”  

Jun’s heart cracked open at the rawness of it.  

“It won’t” he promised.  

Dylan swallowed hard. “Then touch me. Please.”  

Jun did. Slowly.  

He kissed Dylan again. Lips trailing over the path they had just travelled, only now deeper, wetter. His tongue brushed against Dylan’s lower lip until it opened to him and Dylan let out a soft, aching sound as their mouths slid together.  

Jun’s hand slid the curve of his hip, the soft inside of his thigh. Dylan’s breath caught, and his hips twitched slightly as he pressed up into the touch. Their skin rubbed, heat gathering fast between them but neither of them rushed.  

Jun worshipped.  

His hands mapped Dylan’s ribs, the curve of his waist, the trembling edge of his lower stomach. He touched Dylan like he was learning him again, rediscovering every inch.  

Dylan’s hands roamed too, first Jun’s chest, then his sides, then down to his back, nails dragging faintly as he arched up, pulling Jun down harder.  

“You always feel like this?” Dylan asked between kisses, voice husky now.  

Jun breathed against his lips “Like what?”  

“Like I’m the only thing you want.”  

Jun’s answer came instantly. “You are.”