Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Darling, are you with me?” 

A soft voice brought Minhyuk out of his thoughts, blinking back to reality to realize he had been stirring his late night cereal for probably five minutes. The hard surface of the kitchen chair had long since made his ass go numb and the rigid wood made his back hurt, stiff and aching. The already-tasteless corn flakes in his bowl had turned to mush, crumbling and breaking up into the slowly warming milk. Minhyuk made a face, pushing it away with a sigh. Eating cereal at one o’clock in the morning was a disgusting habit, anyway, one that he’d picked up from Peniel over the years. It did make him feel a bit guilty to waste it - the cereal was an expensive prize from an exhaustive trip to the international store, not to mention the milk. Still, eating it always gave him a sort of nostalgic feeling, reminding him of his strange little pack, so he made a habit of eating it when he was feeling down. 

“Sorry, babe. I zoned out a little.” Minhyuk admitted, leaning back into Eunkwang’s chest as his mate came up behind him. Eunkwang nuzzled into his hair, subtly checking Minhyuk’s scent. Minhyuk huffed but couldn't bring himself to whine about the way his mate fretted over him. He had just basically dissociated for five minutes straight, Eunkwang was right to be concerned. 

As a beta, Eunkwang was tuned into his scent to an almost scary degree, able to tell whenever Minhyuk was out of sorts no matter how hard the alpha tried to hide it. They’d been together long enough that Minhyuk didn’t even bother trying anymore, instead soaking up the affection he was given like the gift it was. 

“What’s got you so worked up?” Eunkwang asked, pulling out the chair next to Minhyuk. He reached out, lacing their fingers together as he pulled Minhyuk's hand away from the abandoned spoon. Minhyuk took a minute to marvel at the contrast their grasped palms made, Eunkwang’s fingers were short and thick, his palm and wrist almost dainty in comparison to the wide breadth of Minhyuk’s palm and the long, knobby jointed lengths of his fingers. There was a scrape across Minhyuk’s knuckles from a weightlifting mishap that only a few days ago Eunkwang had worried over, dabbing at it with an alcohol swab and tutting at Minhyuk when he hissed, scolding Minhyuk about the dangers of staph infections and impetigo. Minhyuk hadn’t been listening at all, instead choosing to watch his mate fuss over him with a dopey, besotted grin. 

Minhyuk tilted his head to bare his neck for Eunkwang. The sweet ache in his shoulders reminding him of the hours he’d spent lately hunched over the keyboard in his studio, trying to bust out a song. So far, he’d only ended up with four mostly empty documents, filled with fragmented beats and half-hearted melodies. Ever since Ilhoon had been forced to disappear from the public eye, the burden of music production had landed almost entirely on Minhyuk’s shoulders and he just… wasn’t ready for that. Ilhoon’s offers to work on the tracks uncredited were summarily rejected by the rest of the pack, they would never let his hard work go unacknowledged and they would never take credit for his genius.

Even though the gentle beta was still part of their pack, for now they had to hide those ties. No one could legally force a pack that still wanted to be together apart, especially not employers, much to the chagrin of entertainment companies. They could dissolve contracts, forbid interactions or promotions while they were on the clock, but at the end of the day, if the pack went home to Ilhoon there was nothing their management could do about it, and besides, with the position that Eunkwang had within the company he would never let that happen anyways. Ilhoon was a treasured part of their pack, mistakes and all, but the public was unforgiving at best. They had seen it time and time again, with Monsta X and Wonho, with iKon and Hanbin. Over and over packs were forced to publicly bury their connections to a cherished pack member to save their careers, and Minhyuk hated it. 

“Just… work, the usual. I’ve got a lot on my mind these days.” Minhyuk settled on, smiling wanly. Eunkwang gave him an unamused look and Minhyuk's smile dropped. Eunkwang never let him get away with sweeping comments like that, maybe it was the leader in him but he would always demand specifics from them - detailed information about their problems so he could provide detailed solutions. Minhyuk’s tendencies towards non-commitals often had them going back and forth until one of them (Minhyuk) gave in. 

“Cube is putting a lot of pressure on me for the new comeback and I’m worried I can’t meet it, honestly.” Minhyuk confessed after a brief stare-off, sighing deeply. “Self-production is such a big deal these days, you know? Like sure we can and do work with producers, but you know how they like to promote how self-sufficient we can be.”

“How long were you in the studio today?” Eunkwang asked, thumb brushing over the bumps and ridges of the back of Minhyuk's hand, his steady touch grounding him like an anchor. 

“...nine hours?” He mumbled, and wow the back of the cereal box was suddenly very interesting. Apparently they were now making the almond vanilla flakes with extra riboflavin , whatever the hell that was.

“ Nine hours?!” Eunkwang whispered-shouted even though they were the only ones in their pack unit. The rest of their packmates were safely tucked into their own little units. 

This floor was all theirs, little slices of all the home essentials surrounding a central living area where they could all gather when they wanted to, and doors that could close and lock when they didn’t. Minhyuk and Eunkwang shared a unit, so it was just the two of them. Though for the sake of their privacy, Minhyuk’s brother occupied the corner floor, where Minhyuk ‘officially’ lived with him. Minhyuk was grateful for the success of his pack, that it allowed them to be together like this. He knew a lot of packs weren’t so lucky, split between floors and buildings, not getting to see each other near enough. It was tough on bonds. They were blessed, really, to have what they had. 

Even if Ilhoon couldn’t come on stage with them anymore, Minhyuk’s instincts were soothed to know that Ilhoon was tucked away in his own little unit just across the living area. If he opened their door right now he could see Ilhoon’s own door. Sometimes it drove him insane, how his alpha-driven instincts needed to know everyone was safe and happy and healthy, and their pack wasn’t even all romantically linked. They were his family, his responsibility, and he loved them so much it made his heart ache. Sometimes he tried to imagine what that ache would feel like if he was. in love with them and it was so overwhelming. He didn’t know how Shownu and his pack had survived it, having Wonho taken away from them like that. 

“See, I knew you wouldn’t like my answer!” Minhyuk whined, falling to the side dramatically. He batted his eyelashes up at Eunkwang as if he could diffuse his pack leader's frustration with aegyo alone. 

“I don’t like seeing you overwork yourself.” Eunkwang chided, leaning down so they were nose to nose, blinking down at Minhyuk with a subtle pout. He was close enough to his face that if it was anyone but Eunkwang he would be uncomfortable, but since it was Eunkwang, Minhyuk grinned.

“You’re pretty,” Minhyuk said instead of responding to Eunkwang’s chastising, happy with the way red painted Eunkwang’s cheeks. The beta pulled back with a dismissive huff, flustered. Aegyo always had been the strongest weapon in Minhyuk’s arsenal.

“And you’re dumb.” Eunkwang teased, flicking Minhyuk’s forehead gently. Minhyuk laughed lightly at the scolding, flopping to the side dramatically to drape himself across Eunkwang’s lap. He turned his head to nuzzle into Eunkwang’s belly, uncaring of the way his lower body was strung uncomfortably across two kitchen chairs. 

Eunkwang was wearing an old sweater, soft from innumerable washes and years of wear. Underneath the intentional blankness of their neutralizing detergent lay the aroma of Eunkwang . Lilies and clean cotton and leader , his scent steadily reflecting the fact he had been the emotional center of their little pack for over a decade now. 

Minhyuk got lost in it, nuzzling into the softness of Eunkwang’s stomach, everything faded away but his mate. The uncomfortable twist of his lower back and the ache of his shoulders suddenly didn’t exist. The bone-deep tiredness from the hours in the studio and the frustration of the painfully empty sound files to show for it. It was only Eunkwang. 

Eunkwang’s hand carding through his hair was what finally pulled him from his mindless scenting. He blinked open his eyes. Eunkwang looked down at him, a smile on his face that Hyunsik had years ago dubbed his ‘obsessed with Minhyuk smile ’. 

“You wanna move this to somewhere more comfortable?” Eunkwang asked, fingernails scratching gently against Minhyuk’s scalp. Minhyuk leaned into the touch, humming contentedly. 

“Mhm, yeah.” Minhyuk said, stretching out and rolling gracelessly from Eunkwang’s lap. He thumped onto the floor loud enough that the downstairs neighbors probably heard it. Oh well, they’d heard worse from the BTOB packfloor before. 

“Don’t do that, you’ll bruise your knees.” Eunkwang laughed, sticking his socked foot into Minhyuk’s face teasingly, so of course Minhyuk bit him.

“ Yah! Don’t bite me!” Eunkwang squawked, pulling his foot a safe distance from Minhyuk’s teeth. Minhyuck snickered, standing up and pretending like he didn’t hear the crack of his back, though the smug glance from Eunkwang made it clear that he heard it. 

Eunkwang flopped down on the couch, sprawling out over the worn black leather. “Come here,” He gestured and Minhyuk was all too happy to follow, sprawling out lengthwise, his face pressed back into Eunkwangs stomach, soaking in his scent once more like the mere minutes away from Eunkwang had actually been a decade. 

“Feeling ok?” Eunkwang asked, reaching over to grab the TV remote, selecting some mindless American movie with subtitles flashing across the bottom of the screen, the unfamiliar language blurred into background noise as Minhyuk thought about how best to answer his mate.

“Yeah, just-” Minhyuk sighed, “You know how it is.” His voice trailing off into nothing while he busied himself with his nuzzling again. He pushed up Eunkwang’s just sweater enough that he could brush his nose against a strip of skin at his hip, reveling in the warmth that was purely Eunkwang . He mouthed at it, wet lips and a touch of teeth.

He felt a hand in his hair again but didn’t pull away, wrapping his arm around Eunkwang’s waist and pulling himself impossibly closer. He darted his tongue out, pressing it to his skin and really letting Eunkwang’s scent flood his senses as it coated his tongue and the back of his throat. He could taste his own scent there now, the way a tangy chill of steel and the smokey scent of some sort of slow-burning and fragrant wood weaved through Eunkwang’s cotton and lilies, letting anyone who got close enough to properly scent him know that he bore Minhyuk’s mark somewhere on his body. 

Eunkwang let him worry at his skin, always so indulgent when Minhyuk was like this. They orbited each other. Peniel had called them codependent, but Sungjae had defended them. They were Soulmates, he had clarified. Eunkwang had laughed, calling him sentimental, but Minhyuk had been close enough to pick up on the way Eunkwang’s scent flared with surprise and pleasure, matching the way Minhyuk’s own heart skipped a beat in his chest. Minhyuk wasn’t sure if he believed in soulmates, but if he was inclined to believe that the universe had one perfect person in mind for him, he had no doubt at all that the person was Eunkwang.

Minhyuk didn’t know how long they sat like that, everything falling away to a fuzzy place in his head that he went to when he was close to his mate like this. Eunkwang was their leader, and had been since the day they met him, but Minhyuk was still an alpha and he still had all the instincts that went along with it. Sometimes he just needed to be anchored to his mate, surround himself with Eunkwang and know that his mate was taken care of, protected, loved . 

It could have been ten minutes or an hour, Minhyuk had long since lost any sort of awareness of the passage of time, when Eunkwang’s hand tightened in his hair; pulling Minhyuk away from his mindless scenting. His palm cupped Minhyuk’s jaw and he leaned into it, eyes fluttering shut as Eunkwang’s thumb brushed against the plushness of his bottom lip. He pressed that same thumb firmly into Minhyuk’s chin, guiding his gaze down. His other hand rested on the waistband of his sweats, silently asking. Minhyuk blinked, needing a minute to process the question. He nodded, shifting out of Eunkwang’s lap to let his mate up off the couch.

At the far end of the couch was an ottoman. The lid lifted up, and inside they stored things like throw pillows and blankets. Mostly, when the pack wanted to have a movie night or something they met in the common area, but on occasion one of them would want a bit more privacy when they interacted with their lead pair, and they would join Minhyuk and Eunkwang in their unit. Underneath all the spare blankets and pillows, however, was something else. It was a small dog bed; memory foam, with an easy to wipe clean faux-suede lining. They had started putting it out of view ever since Peniel had been over to watch a movie and asked, curiously ‘ Wait, when did you get a dog?’ and they didn’t have the heart to traumatize him by telling him that it’s true purpose was to spare Minhyuk’s knees whenever he was in the mood to choke on Eunkwang’s cock.

Eunkwang arranged the little foam rectangle on the floor close to the couch and then sat back down, legs spread with enough space for Minhyuk to settle between them, the padding under him protecting his knees from the hard wooden floor under him just as it was intended. He couldn’t help preening a bit, his instincts purred at the care he was shown, at the sure sign that his mate was so good, so attentive. Such a perfect beta, his alpha had picked well.

He tipped forward, starting with Eunkwang’s knee. He pressed his nose into the boney shape of it, nuzzling through the thick cotton of his sweatpants, closing his eyes when Eunkwang’s hand made its way back into his hair; not pulling but grounding him, letting him know he was there, he was present in the moment in a way that Minhyuk didn’t need to be.  

Minhyuk followed the heady scent of cotton and lilies to the apex of his thighs, and under it the musk of a man, of Eunkwang, the scent of quickly mounting arousal, sweat and sex layered under the typically delicate beta scent. It made for a dizzying contrast. It only took a moment for him to be pressing his face against Eunkwang’s crotch, nose brushing across the shape of his cock. 

“Don’t tease.” Eunkwang scolded softly. His fingers combed through Minhyuk’s bangs, gripping them as he tilted Minhyuk’s head back slightly, observing the flush already spreading across the alpha’s cheeks. 

Of course Minhyuk could never refuse a direct command from Eunkwang, especially one that involved him pulling out Eunkwang’s dick, so he did just that. His hands curled into the fabric of the beta’s sweats and tugged them down, mouth watering at every inch of skin that was bared to him until they pooled around Eunkwang’s ankles and he kicked them off to the side.

Eunkwang, predictably, had not been wearing any underwear. His cock sprang free, half hard but filling out rapidly. Minhyuk ignored it in favor of lavishing his undivided attention on the gnarled scar on the inside of Eunkwang’s left thigh, right over the pungent scent gland that dominated the area. His scent was the deepest there, but more importantly it’s where Minhyuk’s mark was. Their mating mark. The place where he sunk his teeth into Eunkwang’s supple flesh and bound their scents together forever. Traditionally, mating marks were given on the neck, compressing the gland on their left side and leaving behind a scar that was easily visible to anyone who looked, as long as you didn’t wear a turtleneck or something. 

Most people wanted to show off their marks. Wanted everyone they met to know they were mated without having to scent them more carefully. Some people even went as far as to pigment their marks, rubbing in healing salves colored with ochre, a natural pigment derived from clay that settled into the wound and colored it black like a tattoo. Of course there were other colors available, ochre came in a wide variety of natural shades - browns, reds, and yellows, even a reddish-purple - but the most popular choice was black. 

Some people, however, valued their privacy, and any mark that compressed a scent gland could be a mating mark. Biologically, there was very little difference between a mating mark and pack mark. They both compressed glands, triggering the absorption of the marker’s pheromones and altering the scent of the person being marked. Serious packs, often ones that were all romantically involved, most often chose to wear their pack leader’s mark on the wrist of their dominant hand, so that when they introduced themselves their mark would be visible and their pack leader’s scent would be apparent right away, but that didn’t mean that the wrists were only for pack marks. An alpha who had multiple mates, for example, might carry a mark on their wrist after both sides of their neck are marked. It was all about preference, as long as you didn’t mind someone making assumptions about the status of your relationships. 

For Minhyuk and Eunkwang, however, their decision to carry their marks on their thighs was less about privacy and more about necessity. As an alpha/beta couple, the two of them couldn’t mate publicly - not if they wanted to keep their jobs. Alpha and beta pairs were common, but only if they were what was referred to as ‘reproductively sound.’ A male alpha and a male beta together couldn’t produce pups, and because they were missing the omega that would create a completed trio, they were considered unwhole, unnatural. In the eyes of the public they needed an omega to share their bond with them for them to ‘make sense’. It sort of made him sick to his stomach that the legality of his relationship boiled down to whether or not one of them could put a baby in the other, whether they wanted kids or not. 

When you were a kid, you looked at the pack you grew up in and thought - this makes sense. This is what love looks like. This is what I want someday. Minhyuk grew up in a pack that his parents formed in college. His omega mom, his beta dad, so proud to have two strong alpha sons. His mom’s best friend, a cheerful omega man and his alpha mate - a tall woman who had the best scent ever (after his mom of course), and a sweet beta couple who both happened to be women. They were a scent bonded pack, like BTOB, who loved and cared for each other like siblings. They raised pups together, they were his aunts and uncles. They supported each other, living in a set of pack units in an apartment building with the foothills of Buramsan mountain as their backyard. His mother and his Uncle Hongkeun, the perpetually cheerful omega, used to walk Minhyuk and his brother and his cousins up the mountain to Cheonbosa temple to pray. The walk was long, but he held his cousin Wontak’s hand all the way up, breathless and giddy in the face of nature and the power of the ancient place of worship. 

When they returned home, his beta aunts would have the biggest lunch spread out on the table waiting for them. The children would dig in, thanking them with cheeks puffed out with food, and Minhyuk would see the way they leaned on each other, love and adoration for each other and for the children in their eyes. 

No, it never occurred to Minhyuk even once when he was growing up that anything about the loving, secure relationship between his two beta aunts was wrong. It wasn’t until he was in middle school and he took his first public health class that he learned they weren’t supposed to exist. Two beta women who loved each other without an alpha involved? Impossible. They were mistaken, surely. Confused. They were wrong. Wrong for each other, wrong about each other. They didn’t make sense, but that didn’t make sense, because Minhyuk had grown up watching them and they were just as in love as his mom and dad, as his aunt and uncle. They sat together on the couch and watched movies the same way his parents did. They kissed each other goodbye in the mornings. They took care of each other when they were sick, held each other when they cried, and laughed together when things were good. That was what love looked like, wasn’t it? Just because they couldn’t have babies it was wrong? But they had babies! They had Minhyuk and his brother Jungmin, they had Wontak, Wonpyo, and their little sister Youngkyo. They loved Minhyuk, his brother, and his cousins just as much as their parents did. 

It just didn’t make any sense to him. 

It wasn’t until he was fourteen and presented as an alpha that he began to understand it a little bit. After his presentation, it was like all Minhyuk could think about was omegas. With their soft skin and their sweet scents, the way their hair shined in the light, the way every single one seemed to have a laugh that sounded like music to him. There weren’t very many presented omegas in his own year, since omegas didn’t tend to present until they were a little bit older, but it felt like he was besotted with a new omega upperclassman each week. 

Meanwhile, there were plenty of presented alphas in his year. Loud, obnoxious, incapable of controlling their emotions or their scents. The acrid stink of them felt like it lived inside his nose, trips to the locker room after soccer practice were like torture, no amount of scent blocker capable of stifling that much raw hormonal chaos. They were rude, short-tempered, ill-mannered, and Minhyuk couldn’t even stand to be in the same room as most of them once he presented. It was only natural, the school counselor said, he was an alpha now. Alphas were meant to be repulsed by other alphas. They simply just didn’t go together, but it was the sign of a strong alpha, an alpha who had control over himself, to learn to tolerate other alphas. So he would just have to do his best. 

In the hormonal haze that was high school, Minhyuk learned to ignore the stench of unwashed alpha teenagers and dreamed about the day he would meet his omega mate. He went on a few dates, kissed a few pretty omegas, girls and boys, though he soon found that he preferred male omegas, and never, not even once, thought about betas. 

Sure, betas existed. They were definitely there . 

Betas were crucial, important . They made up the backbone of every pack ever since the dawn of time. It was a given that one day, when he formed the pack of his dreams just like his parents, he would find a few stable, reliable betas to join it; but that would come later. 

They would be friends of his, most likely, who naturally gravitated to him and his future mate as an alpha/omega pair. Until he found his omega, they were just faceless blurs in his mind’s eye. Marked for later. An unchecked box on his mental to-do list. 

When Minhyuk was in his final year of middle school he was scouted by all the high schools in his part of the city to play for their soccer teams. He dreamed of becoming a superstar on the international field. He was talented, fit, with a sharp mind and quick feet. No one could beat him in a foot race and no one could out shoot him. He was practically a god, sure to get scouted for university, all he had to do was wait.

When he was seventeen, a year out from taking his university entrance exams, his coach sat him down and told him to give up. He wasn’t tall enough anymore, or fast enough, or strong enough. Other people had passed him by. These days, he was firmly middle of the pack in terms of talent. If he kept pushing, kept insisting this was what he wanted to do with his life, he would only embarrass himself. It had been a blow to his ego, and if he was being honest looking back, not one he actually believed to be true. Maybe the coach had been jealous, who knows, maybe he saw that Minhyuk had been about to achieve where he personally had failed and wanted to hold him back, but his words did the trick.

Minhyuk took his university entrance exams. He got into Dankook University, and after a semester he somehow found himself gravitating towards the musical theater department. He’d sung in school before, had been part of the boys choir for his art requirement ever since he was in sixth grade. It was something he was good at, comfortable with in an easy way but had never put a ton of effort into. He was naturally talented, his teachers used to say, but people told Minhyuk that about a lot of things. He could run a kilometer in six minutes, he decided he wanted to learn to rap to impress omegas when he was in high school and made a bit of a name for himself at school festivals, but that felt like it came naturally to him, too; he’d always been a good public speaker. He auditioned for his first musical in ninth grade on a whim and got the secondary lead despite never having acted before, and then spent the next few years as a player in local theater productions in between soccer and his studies. He was an alpha, everyone had always told him that alphas could have it all. They were the pinnacle of what it meant to be . Anything Minhyuk wanted, he just had to take. 

So musical theater it was. That was his new dream. He exchanged the field for the stage. The fast paced world of theater was exactly what he needed to feel whole again. Auditions, the power plays and the mind games that came along with them. The sprint to memorize a script so he could begin to hone his performance. The thrill of the community, the way everyone seemed to mesh, where everyone felt like they were your best friend and then the next second you found out they were the one who spread that rumor about you. It was exhausting, he hated it and he loved it so much, but the thing he fell in love with the fastest was his dance classes, and then from there everything changed. Minhyuk had never danced before, and it was hard as hell. It was like every bit of alpha perfection simply fell out of his bones. He was a useless sack of uncoordinated muscle. He couldn’t make his body bend like that.

He loved it. Loved failing at something. Loved being so shit at something and knowing he was shit at it, that he had to work hard for once in his life, that he didn’t just walk onto the dance floor and just do it the way he’d been doing things his entire life.

It changed everything. 

Audition notices were everywhere on the Jukjeon campus. Even though all of this was new to him and he was fighting to fit in, Minhyuk was used to being the best, and the best of the best were going to auditions, so he went, too. To the theater auditions, of course, but also to the acting auditions, and the idol auditions. And he got rejected, again, and again, and again. Once, by sheer luck, he made it all the way to the final round at JYP, he vividly remembered standing across from Jaebeom, Jinyoung, and Hakyeon, people who would one day become his peers in their incredibly fast paced industry, and thinking to himself ‘ I don’t know what I’m doing here, I’m not as good as them. ’

It had almost been a relief to be eliminated. 

A few weeks later he accepted an offer to train at a small no-name agency. He told himself he was going to be an actor, anyway, so that’s what he threw himself into. He didn’t give up on music entirely, he even featured on a mixtape track with some other rappers who were trying to find some traction in the idol world, where underground rappers were starting to become a bit of a novelty. Companies were starting to debut groups centered around established rappers, instead of training idol hopefuls to rap, but Minhyuk didn’t concern himself with that, he was just happy to help his friends out.

Exactly a year and two months after he stopped going to auditions, he got a call from a casting agent. They were forming a group that was vocal based, with an idol music flare. They remembered him from a past audition, and wanted him because he could sing as well as rap. 

Come in for one last audition? Sure.

Three weeks later he was packing his things to move into a trainee dorm. At the big age of twenty years old, he was officially an idol trainee. Finally. 

And that was when he met Eunkwang for the first time. 

Minhyuk was a vain man, he had absolutely no problems admitting that about himself. When he was a child he had been adorable, when he was in elementary school his baby fat had only made him look even cuter. In middle school his awkward phase lasted as long as it took him to grow into his smile, the slightly overlarge shape of his front teeth deemed an endearing quirk rather than a flaw by both his classmates and his teachers. In high school he was popular, a heartthrob in every sense of the word. 

Eunkwang was… not what he expected a late stage idol trainee to look like. To be frank, the first time Minhyuk met him he’d been scared for his own future. It wasn’t that he looked bad, or that his face was unfortunate. It was just that he was… plain. Boring. Nothing about his face excited Minhyuk, not like Hyunsik or Sungjae or Ilhoon. Changsub and Peniel were nothing to look at, either, but Eunkwang was supposed to be their leader . Shouldn’t their leader have a face that inspired? 

Minhyuk quickly learned that it was Eunkwang’s voice that inspired people. The first time he heard him sing, Minhyuk thought that Eunkwang could perform every single stage with a paper bag over his head and they would still be popular. People were going to be clamoring to hear him sing. 

Eunkwang was a dedicated leader, a phenomenal teacher who inspired everyone around him. His personality was charming, to say the least, endearingly easy to fluster, awkwardly persistent where others would have long since given up, with an almost unstoppable drive to comfort people when they were feeling down. He was so typically beta, so much the glue that held their strange little fledgling pack together, that Minhyuk didn’t mind in the slightest bit when Eunkwang rubbed his scent all over the members in a way that would typically be the responsibility of the pack alpha, scent bonding the members to him and making himself the de facto leader in more way that just their musical career. 

When he looks back on it now, doesn’t remember exactly when he stopped caring about omegas or packs or mates, all he knows is that one day he looked around the waiting room at the members and he felt…content. None of them were anything like what he used to picture when he thought about his future pack. 

Sure, Sungjae was beautiful, but the young omega was like a little brother to him. Any attraction he might have felt to him was outweighed by the fact that he was five years his junior and it showed, by turns the most adorable and the most annoying person Minhyuk had ever met.   

Changsub was closer to him in age but he once told him he’d rather be sedated than let Minhyuk near him during a heat (not that Minhyuk had even offered in the first place). 

Peniel, the other alpha, had intimidated Minhyuk at first. He had felt like a threat, more stereotypically alpha with the managers having to remind him to stay out of the gym so he didn’t build up too much muscle and ruin their idol image, and a blunt personality softened by endless tolerance and patience. When Minhyuk got frustrated and snappish, Peniel always maintained a cool head. He was still waters, and Minhyuk sometimes felt like a hurricane. It was funny how he was so sure he was going to hate Peniel at first and then somehow the younger man ended up being his rock. So much so that after a while he almost got angry at the younger man for how agreeable he was, how often he just went with the flow and refused to let things bother him. Minhyuk felt like things bother him all the time, so he felt like Peniel secretly had to be going crazy .

Their unshakable beta trio, Eunkwang, Hyunsik, and Ilhoon, kept the pack grounded in reality. Minhyuk went from not really thinking much of betas, beyond the ephemeral ‘someday I might need one or two’, to realizing that actually he couldn’t survive without them. None of them were talented in the kitchen, but that didn’t keep Minhyuk from admitting that he would have starved to death in the dorm without Hyunsik’s cooking. He wouldn’t have been near as confident or outgoing in the beginning when it came to music production if Ilhoon hadn’t been there to cheer him on. And Eunkwang…Minhyuk wouldn’t have been a lot of things without Eunkwang. 

He wouldn’t have ever learned what it was like to be truly selfless. The staff and their fans had all kinds of nicknames for Eunkwang; The Happy Virus, Angel Leader, Seo Sweet. He had the most kind and forgiving heart of anyone Minhyuk had ever met. No matter how overboard the members went with their jokes, Eunkwang accepted their words and actions with a smile that almost seemed besotted. It was so painfully obvious that he treasured his members. Instead of scolding them or flaring up in anger, Eunkwang resolved issues through a conversation. His voice was always calm, he was always smiling, he was gentle and supportive. 

Minhyuk hated it. 

It made him want to shake him, tell him to stand up for himself, have a backbone, be an alpha. Like his coaches and his teachers and his classmates always told him. But Eunkwang wasn't an alpha, he was a beta. The best beta. The most perfect beta that Minhyuk had ever met outside his doting aunts. Eunkwang even told him once that he couldn’t even remember ever getting into a fight with his own brother . 

Minhyuk asked him about it once, and he told him that he didn’t think he would know how to get angry even if he tried. It all felt like it should be fake, a persona, a way to manipulate people and get what he wanted but Eunkwang was just genuinely that nice.

Except for when the safety of the pack was concerned. The first time it happened, Minhyuk had been surprised by how much it scared him to not hear that perpetual note of cheerfulness in Eunkwang’s voice. He hadn’t yelled, or cursed. He was polite as he spoke carefully and clearly to the journalist who asked Sungjae an inappropriate question about the amount of attention he got from alphas in high school, but the undercurrent of icy authority in his tone actually had Minhyuk frozen in his seat. 

After that incident, Minhyuk started paying more attention. He slowly began to realize how much Eunkwang took upon himself, how much he was holding close to his chest in an effort to keep them all happy, shielded from the nastier side of their industry. It was like Minhyuk slowly started to pick up all the slack, take on all the things that Eunkwang couldn’t. If Eunkwang couldn’t get angry, Minhyuk would get angry for him. If he didn’t scold someone, Minhyuk would scold them later. 

All the while, in the back of his head, he remembered the frosty tone Eunkwang had used to defend Sungjae and Minhyuk found himself getting more and more frustrated that Eunkwang could speak up for himself like that. It was even more frustrating because Eunkwang was only doing what a good beta should, being a natural peacekeeper, a steady and calm presence that others could rely on. Minhyuk had such clear memories of his beta aunts, how their soothing scents had been as much of a balm for scraped palms and knees as bandaids and ice packs, or how they were the ones he went to when he was newly presented and his immature alpha brain was nothing but rage and angst, but there was just something about Eunkwang’s scent. It worked its way into Minhyuk’s every cell, comforting him in a way that he’d never felt before. He mentioned something about it to Peniel once and he’d looked at him with wide, startled eyes. 

“I mean, I guess it’s nice. Betas just smell nice, though, it’s like, what they do .” 

Eunkwang didn’t just smell nice to Minhyuk, though. He smelled like peace, and love, and tranquility. It filled that little achey spot that had existed in the pit of his stomach since the very first day he left his birth pack behind. Slotted perfectly into the empty place in his heart labeled ‘home’. 

Sometimes, when he felt like he was drowning, on the very edge of losing control, he’d crawl into Eunkwang’s bed and shove his nose into the crook of his neck. Eunkwang would laugh his bright, ridiculous laugh and ask him if he’d mistaken him for one of the omegas with the way he was huffing his scent, but Minhyuk would only grumble and tell him to be quiet. 

Eunkwang never made him leave, he just threaded his fingers in his hair, scratched his nails against Minhyuk’s scalp, and let that tranquil beta scent flow until Minhyuk felt like he was drunk. 

If his lips pressed a bit too firmly against Eunkwang’s throat, they never talked about it in the morning. 

They never talked about it, all the way up until the day that Minhyuk came across Eunkwang and one of the managers outside their office. It was late in the evening, and this particular manager was the one who answered directly to the bosses. It wasn’t unusual for him to be stressed, a bit more snappish than the other managers, and today had been a particularly demanding day. Changsub was on a new suppressant, and he wasn’t adjusting to it well. Eunkwang had forced the choreographer to slow down several times, calling for more breaks than they would usually take and he’d even dismissed everyone from practice two hours earlier than planned. 

Everyone had left, but the manager had asked Eunkwang to stay behind. Minhyuk had sent the other on ahead and now, almost forty-five minutes later, he was done waiting. 

“... you don’t have the authority to make calls like that, ” Minhyuk could hear the manager’s voice, loud and arrogant as he exited the elevator. “ Remember your place, Eunkwang-ah. You’re just a beta. Have I made myself clear? ”

“Yes, sir.” Eunkwang’s voice was steady and clear. There was no waver; no shame or anger or upset. Minhyuk could see him now, standing across from the manager outside his office door. His head wasn’t lowered, he wasn’t submitting; the manager was an alpha, but definitely not one with any level of dominance to speak of. Minhyuk doubted that if he tried to use his alpha voice on anyone it would even be able to compel them to do more than twitch. Still, Eunkwang was a beta, and this man was an alpha, and in a lot of ways his superior in their workplace, for politeness sake, he should at least be lowering his eyes, but Eunkwang’s head was held high. His eyes were fixed on a point over the manager’s shoulder, not so bold as to look the man in the eyes, but a clear message was being sent anyway. 

The manager snorted, shouldering his bag angrily as he made to leave. “We’re on a strict schedule. We have deadlines to meet. We can’t derail it just for one omega.”

“He’s not just one omega, he’s vital to the team.” Eunkwang said. He said it in a tone that suggested that he’d said it a lot over the last forty-five minutes. 

The manager growled, and Eunkwang blinked, just the tiniest flinch, but he didn’t break, hands folded neatly behind his back and eyes still resolutely fixed on the wall. The manager whirled away from him and made for the elevator, stopping short when he saw Minhyuk standing there. His nostrils flared, and his gaze dropped to the ground. “Just doing my job..” He mumbled, stepping quickly past Minhyuk and into the elevator, stabbing the button for the parking garage with a shaking finger. His eyes darted all over the elevator, refusing to land anywhere near Minhyuk. Minhyuk’s eyes never left him, making sure he felt the full weight of his gaze all the way until the doors closed, then he turned and stalked down the hall to find Eunkwang exactly where the manager had left him. 

His shoulders were slumped now, the corners of his ever smiling mouth dragged down into a heavy frown. He seemed to be lost in his own head, but as Minhyuk approached his body jerked and he pulled in a huge lungful of air. His eyes blew wide and his head whipped up. 

“Minhyuk-ah.” Eunkwang smiled, and Minhyuk saw red. 

“Don’t fucking smile at me!” He snarled, stalking menacingly towards the beta. 

Eunkwang’s smile faltered, just momentarily, but he caught it before it slipped entirely. “You’re angry.” He said simply. “Why are you angry?”

“Why am I angry ?” Minhyuk shouted. He had no idea if anyone was still locked away in their offices, working later than even they were, but at that exact moment he didn’t really care. “Why aren't you angry?”

Eunkwang sighed. His smile was still there, but it looked dimmer now, sadder. “Who said I’m not?”

“Then why don’t you act like it ?” Minhyuk demanded, “Why can’t you ever just tell people to fuck off? Why do you always have to be so-” He stood in front of Eunkwang, hands flexing uselessly at his sides as he struggled to find the words. “So- '' There was barely a centimeter of difference in their height, yet it was still just enough that Eunkwang had to lift his chin slightly to meet Minhyuk’s eyes and when he did his perfect beta scent hit Minhyuk like a tidal wave. “So good .” He finished lamely, but it didn’t really matter what he said because his hands had finally decided on a course of action and before he could even think about what he was doing they shot out and wrapped around Eunkwang’s biceps, tugging the beta towards him. He pressed his lips against Eunkwang’s and whimpered immediately. The smell of clean cotton and fresh lilies felt like it was invading his lungs and wrapping around his very heart. He felt desperate with it, desperate to show Eunkwang that he mattered too, that he didn’t have to be so agreeable all the time, that he could fight for the things he wanted, or the things he didn’t want. 

“You’re okay, alpha.” Eunkwang whispered against his lips, “The pack is safe.” 

And oh if that wasn’t a bucket of cold water straight down Minhyuk’s spine. 

Of course. Of course Eunkwang would take Minhyuk kissing him as some sort of haywire manifestation of his alpha instinct after a perceived threat. Not because Eunkwang made his head feel like it was full of cotton and mist. Not because he was the most beautifully frustrating person Minhyuk had ever met, who’s self-sacrificing ways and his boundless dedication spoke to Minhyuk’s alpha in a way that nothing ever had before. 

At some point Minhyuk had stopped thinking about omegas and packs and someday betas, but recently, he’d started thinking about it again, only this time it was different. He had a pack, and when he thought of his pack the first person he thought of was Eunkwang. Somehow, the beta had become a sort of true north for him, a bright guiding light by which he sat his course. In his dreams he followed his scent home like a beacon, and Eunkwang, being the most frustrating beta on the face of the planet, didn’t even seem to notice that he had somehow managed to turn Minhyuk’s entire world view upside down. 

And why would he? If a pack was particularly close, it wasn’t strange that an alpha and a beta might develop deeper feelings for each other. In fact, most people considered the most balanced mating to be one split three ways between an alpha, beta, and omega, but a non-breeding alpha and beta pair alone, sharing a bond without a broodmate? It wasn’t supposed to happen. Eunkwang wasn’t the one being crazy here, Minhyuk was. Minhyuk was the one kissing his beta packmate, and his beta was simply doing what betas do best, soothing Minhyuk’s frazzled nerves. 

Minhyuk let his hands drop to his sides, but he couldn’t resist one last moment of closeness. He pushed his forehead against Eunkwang’s, letting the tip of his nose drag along the curve of Eunkwang’s cheek. Gruffly, he reached out and took Eunkwang’s hand. 

“Come on, I’ll buy you food.” He mumbled, trying to keep the sheepishness at what he’d just done from creeping into his tone. 

They picked a small hole in the wall barbeque place and ordered a plate of meat and a pot of soup to share, with a bowl of white rice each. Eunkwang kept objecting when Minhyuk put two pieces of meat in his bowl for every piece he gave himself, but one pointed glare from Minhyuk was all it took for Eunkwang to shut his mouth and accept each piece with a quiet ‘thank you, alpha.’ He didn’t even try to protest when Minhyuk gave him all the best bits of the soup either. 

By the time they returned to the dorm, it was late. Much later than either of them had stayed out since debut that wasn’t for a schedule. Peniel was curled up on the couch, wrapped around Sungjae. It was obvious that the pair had fallen asleep waiting for them. Eunkwang set about fussing over them, waking them up and gently bullying them to brush their teeth and get into bed. Minhyuk hovered in the background, watching Eunkwang herd them around like his own little personal ducklings. His skin still itched with the need to be close to the beta, but after what he’d done he didn’t feel like he could just crawl into his bed, nor did he think that he should suddenly ask . Asking felt too much like an admission that something had changed between them, and Minhyuk was certain that said change had only occurred on his side. 

Instead he just settled for hovering in the hallway, too anxious to enter the cramped room full of stacked beds but knowing he was making it awkward by not doing so. He almost gave up and just flopped down face first into his own vacant bunk when Eunkwang finished gently reprimanding Sungjae for stay up so late when he had a vocal lesson in the morning, the beta turned to Minhyuk and grabbed him by the wrist, dragging him down the hall to the heat room.

The room was tiny, no bigger than a modest walk in closet with a narrow mattress on the floor, and plastic crate full of heat and rut supplies, and a little mini-fridge they only ever plugged in when someone was in heat because their electricity bill couldn’t take the hit of it being plugged in all the time. Right now, it remained silent. The omegas were on suppressants preparing for their comeback and neither of the alphas were scheduled for their ruts for at least a month. Minhyuk couldn’t even tell who had used the room last, the sheets were freshly laundered and sprayed down with a scent eraser. Sometimes members would sleep in here for a bit of privacy even when they weren’t in the middle of a cycle, but the space was so cramped it was far from pleasant if your brain wasn’t foggy with hormones. 

Still, Minhyuk wasn’t sure why Eunkwang had brought him here. Maybe he’d interpreted his behavior at the company earlier as him going into an early rut and he was not so subtly trying to shove him in here before it got away from him and he made the omegas sick. Minhyuk opened his mouth to protest, to say he wasn’t in rut when Eunkwang tugged him into the room and shut the door quietly behind him. He could just make out the beta’s features in the dim illumination of the nightlight plugged into the opposite wall before Eunkwang stepped into his space and then stopped, lips hovering just a few millimeters away from Minhyuk’s. 

“Please tell me if I’m reading this wrong,” Eunkwang whispered, and Minhyuk’s heart thumped painfully in his chest. He’d never heard the other man’s voice sound so vulnerable before. “I’m sorry if this isn’t-If I misunderstood, I mean. I just-” He sighed, a shaky exhale that feather over Minhyuk’s face in the dark, “Just let me-” He sighed again, then closed the gap between them, hesitantly touching their lips together, “Just tell me to stop.”

Instead, Minhyuk let his hands fall to Eunkwang’s hips, pulling the beta’s body flush against his. Eunkwang groaned in surprise, his arms coming up to wrap around the back of Minhyuk’s neck. Eunkwang’s fingers threaded through the hair at his nape and he let the beta guide him, deepening the kiss as they stumbled towards the bed. 

That had been eight years ago, maybe closer to nine. 

It had only taken Minhyuk a few months after that night to know that Eunkwang was the only person he was ever going to want, at least in a ‘you wear my mark forever’ sort of way. Eunkwang hadn’t been so sure. Not about wanting to spend his life with him, but about spending it as mates. He could wear Minhyuk’s mark but it wouldn’t mean anything without an omega between them, or a female beta at the very least. They thought about shopping around for a third for ages, but it never felt right. Minhyuk loved Eunkwang, he didn’t need that faceless omega from his teenage fantasies anymore. He just needed Eunkwang. The night Eunkwang finally agreed to carry his mark, Minhyuk might have ran all the way down to the all night pharmacy to buy the kit himself, hoping desperately that the beanie, face mask, and sunglasses he threw on were enough to conceal his identity. He even sprung for the extra expensive kit with the tattoo quality salve that he had to ask the sales girls to get out of the case for him. It was a huge risk, but he wanted so badly to see his mark on Eunkwang’s body that he would have risked anything at that moment. 

When he got home, Eunkwang fondly, yet gently, pointed out that Minhyuk’s burgeoning fitness model career would probably make pigmenting his mark a bad idea. Makeup artists and NDA with a photoshop clause could cover up a normal mark, but covering up a pigmented mark would only lead to rumors and rumors meant risk. Plenty of alphas had secret omegas, but what alpha had an omega they were so devoted to that they would pigment their mark and then hide them away? Dispatch would be all over them. 

There was no question in either of their minds that if they were forced into a corner they would never deny each other. They would very easily come out about their attraction, and maybe now so far into their careers it wouldn’t be so catastrophic. BM and J.seph from KARD had done it, the American alpha proudly marking his beta mate’s neck and vice versa, and other than some media bullshit, most of the fuss had died out after the first six months or so, especially after J.seph enlisted in the military. However, at the time, they’d had to bear the weight of the other members' livelihood, which kept them from making that sort of decision. 

So they kept it a secret. 

Nearly a decade ago they had been clumsy rookies, falling over each other as they navigated the delicate balance of a new group, a blooming pack. Minhyuk had never been attracted to a beta before, but Eunkwang was something so new . 

He was masculine and such a natural leader that it felt almost instinctual to fall in line behind him, to let him lead without question even though he was ‘just a beta’. Nothing about Minhyuk ever felt threatened by Eunkwang, betas tended to be low dominance and Eunkwang was no exception, but even though he didn’t have the ability to make people stand down with a single look the way Minhyuk or Peniel did, he still stood tall, still held his head high and refused to submit. Refused to be anything but exactly what his pack needed to feel safe and thrive. 

The first time they kissed outside of the safety of their dorm or the company building was after their first music show win, huddled in a corner backstage, Eunkwang’s slim shoulders blocking Minhyuk from the rest of the world. It was foolish and desperate, tinted with fear because they both knew how much they had to lose for loving like this, but Eunkwang was Minhyuk’s center, his stability, his happily ever after. 

The world could be cruel to those it deemed different, unforgiving to those who refused to conform to what society expects of them. They knew that if they came out, every touch, word of affection and gentle look they had ever exchanged or ever would exchange would be out underneath the microscope of the world's cruelty. It just wasn’t worth it, neither of them needed to broadcast their affection to strangers to validate it. 

They had their pack, their families and each other. Nothing else mattered and nothing else would ever matter in comparison to all they have already. 

In the end, only Eunkwang’s mark was that deep, permanent black, but Minhyuk made him promise that one day when they were done with this life he’d do it again, and Minhyuk’s would be made to match. For now, their marks were easily hidden and any changes to their scents could be explained away by how tactile Eunkwang was for a beta. Of all the mated idols Minhyuk knew, only Minho and Key had chosen the same location, though Minhyuk admittedly still couldn’t understand why Minho and Key, an alpha and omega pair with full rights to mate,  insisted on pretending like they haven’t been mates for close to a decade now. 

Now in the still and quiet comfort of their private unit of their packfloor, Minhyuk knelt between his mate’s legs. His wonderful, beautiful, kind-hearted beta mate who was somehow nothing like the future Minhyuk had imagined for himself and yet everything he could have ever wanted. Just like the rest of him, Eunkwang’s cock was pretty and perfect, just begging for Minhyuk to get his mouth on it, but Minhyuk had another goal in mind. 

He followed notes of his own warm steel scent to its origin. The matching scar on his own thigh throbbed as Minhyuk fit his teeth over the mark he’d left behind on Eunkwang all those years ago. He relished in the breathy gasp the beta released. Mating marks were always sensitive, no matter how long it had been since they were given, and Minhyuk was always going to be fond of incorporating theirs into their sex life. He pressed a reverent kiss on the silvery scar tissue, the area around the original pigmented imprint of his teeth lightly scarred from years of his worrying at it, reopening it. He breathed in deep and soaking in the scent of his mate, his leader. His Eunkwang . 

The hair on Eunkwangs thighs brushed his nose, a content rumble rolled low in his chest. The sound cut off when Eunkwang’s hand tightened in his hair. 

“Focus, alpha.” Eunkwang’s tone was guiding. He didn’t scold but was firm with his words regardless. “Go ahead, open up.” 

Minhyuk pulled himself away from Eunkwang’s thigh, leaving one last reluctant, biting kiss. The cock in front of him made it more than worth it. Eunkwang wasn’t as big as he was, typical for a beta, but it was beautiful, as far as cocks went. Before he met Eunkwang he never really gave them much thought. He preferred male omegas, and male omega’s had them, but they were hardly the main event, so to speak. Learning Eunkwang’s body, learning what a beta male needed to feel satisfied, had been a whole new world for him, almost as exciting as what he’d learned his beta could do for him with that pretty cock of his. It was thick enough to make Minhyuk feel it in the back of his throat the next day, but slender enough he could sink down on Eunkwang completely and still breathe. 

He pressed a reverent kiss to the very tip, his action almost dainty compared to the way he’d been mauling the sensitive inside of Eunkwang’s thigh not even a moment before. A bead of precome smeared across his top lip. He lapped it up, shivering as the familiar taste coated the back of his tongue. He pressed another kiss against the frenulum, just as dainty, just as worshipful as the first. 

“No teasing.” Eunkwang reminded gently, the hand in his hair tugging Minhyuk closer. The alpha could do nothing but obey, opening his mouth and allowing Eunkwang to feed him his cock. The beta pressed down, down, down until Minhyuk’s nose was buried in the thatch of hair at the base of his mate's cock, thick but well maintained. He was so glad he had convinced Eunkwang to stop waxing, it wasn’t like he needed to anyway. No one was asking him to pose on magazine covers in his underwear anytime soon (their loss).

Eunkwang suppressed a groan. His hand tightened in Minhyuk’s hair for just a moment, sending little zings of pleasure-pain through his scalp and down his spine. Eunkwang relaxed his grip, petting Minhyuk’s sweaty bangs up off his forehead with no small amount of affection. He hooked a knuckle under Minhyuk’s chin, guiding his head up just enough to make eye contact filled with fondness and adoration. 

The image of Eunkwang that others held in their minds was, in Minhyuk’s opinion, diffused by jokes and laughter and his easy going personality, but in reality Eunkwang had always had his own personal brand of intensity. Sharp edges and steel hidden behind an affable smile. Which was why Minhyuk adored being here, on his knees at the center of Eunkwang’s attention, boxed in by his thick thighs and surrounded by his scent. Here, subjecting himself to Eunkwang’s whims, Minhyuk could think of no one more powerful than his mate. 

Minhyuk closed his eyes and breathed through his nose, adjusting to the weight of Eunkwang’s cock on his tongue. Like this he felt so small, weightless under Eunkwang’s careful gaze. His shoulders relaxed as he breathed in and out steadily. He felt his whole body go lax, muscles unwinding one by one as he settled into his role. Like this he felt like he was floating, drifting in a gentle breeze but anchored down by Eunkwang’s steady hand in his hair. He could wander inside his own head, but never feared being lost. Not when Eunkwang was right there. He would never need to worry about going too far when Eunkwang was there to guide him home, with his steady voice and his reassuring touch.

His hands came up to stroke mindlessly over Eunkwang’s calves, traveling up until they were holding onto his bare thighs, hot against Minhyuk’s relatively cool palms. He could feel the wetness left behind by his own mouth when his palm brushed over his mark, feel the human heat, the soft brush of hair, the way Eunkwang would tense slightly as he brushed his hands up and down, over and over again, following the well known path of Eunkwang’s body with a  heart full of contentedness and a head full of clean cotton. 

His head lolled to the side, resting against the strong planes of Eunkwang’s thigh. Eunkwang tugged on his toots, tilting his head up kindly, and Minhyuk blinked open his eyes. His heart swelled, his scent blooming happily in the stillness of the room at the look Eunkwang was giving him. He would never get tired of the way Eunkwang looked when he was in love. In love with him , somehow. Somehow Minhyuk had convinced Eunkwang to pick him, that he was the right alpha for him, that Minhyuk could take care of him. Minhyuk would do anything in the world to keep that happy, content glow in his mate’s eyes. Being in love fit Eunkwang like a glove. In Minhyuk’s eyes everything and everyone else in the world paled in comparison to that soft smile curling at the edge of his lover's lips. 

A soft thumb swiped his cheekbone, just below his eye; brushing away a tear that Minhyuk hadn't even realized he’d shed. He didn’t move from his position, nose buried in Eunkwang’s scent, content to let Eunkwang dote on him however he wished. 

“Are you feeling ok, baby?” Eunkwang asked softly, cupping Minhyuk’s cheek but thankfully making no move to pull him off. 

Minhyuk squeezed Eunkwang’s thigh once, their signal for ‘ yes’ when they couldn’t speak. They had worked out their system years ago, knew every hard and soft limit the other had. They could read each other like a book they had memorized cover to cover. It was all about the push and pull, the give and take; they worked in perfect harmony. 

Eunkwang shifted on the couch. Minhyuk whined around the cock in his throat, opening his eyes to peer up at the man on the couch. 

“I’m just getting a bit more comfortable.” Eunkwang reassured him, knowing how fragile the alpha’s mind could be when they played together like this, when he submitted so fully to his beta that the thought of displeasing him even a little bit could leave him devastated. Eunkwand reached down and smoothed a hand through Minhyuk’s hair, leaving his scent behind like a soothing balm. Minhyuk wasn’t sure how long he had been drifting on his knees like this, nestled between Eunkwang’s legs, but it must have been quite awhile because Eunkwang had gotten his phone and the movie was turned off. He supposed it didn’t matter as long as Eunkwang was content. 

“Such a pretty alpha, doing so good for his leader” Eunkwang cooed, hooking a foot behind Minhyuk’s ass to pull him closer, until he was all but shoved into Eunkwang’s space, surrounded on all sides by his mate. His throat spasmed slightly as he readjusted, tongue shifting to cover his lower teeth, unwilling to let Eunkwang’s cock scrape against them as he tried to catch his breath. 

“There you go love, you can do it.” Eunkwang’s praise floated down on him, gently resurfacing from the haze he had fallen into. He couldn't even remember what he had been so worked up about before. He couldn’t pass the weight of Eunkwang on his tongue, the scent of him surrounding him.

Minhyuk swallowed around his cock just to feel the way Eunkwang’s hips kicked up in surprise, eyes crinkling in amusement when Eunkwang looked down at him scoldingly. 

“Are you already tired of warming me already, darling?” Eunkwang asked, hand tightening in Minhyuk’s hair  once more, hard enough to bring back those little zings of pleasure-pain but not so rough it pulled him from the warm, floaty space his mind had taken up residence in. Minhyuk made a soft noise of disagreement, hands tightening on Eunkwang’s thighs like he thought the beta was going to pull away. 

“Shhh, it's ok, baby. You can stay down there as long as you want. It’s just been half an hour, love. I just wanted to check on you.” Eunkwang cooed. 

A half hour already? Minhyuk was so caught up in that floaty feeling that he hadn’t even noticed the time passing, content in swallowing around Eunkwang’s cock and feeling his warmth under his hands.

Minhyuk shook himself, coaxing his far off mind back to the surface as he let spit pool in his mouth, making it slick just for Eunkwang to use. Very deliberately, he made eye contact with Eunkwang and bobbed his head, indicating that he was ready for more.

“So good to me,” Eunkwang sighed as he pushed Minhyuk’s head down, taking control of the pace so easily. Minhyuk moaned, cock throbbing. “Good boy,” Eunkwang breathed, and Minhyuk moaned again, scrabbling clumsily at the waistband of his shorts, desperate to shove a hand down them and give his aching cock some relief as Eunkwang thrust slowly into his mouth. He tightened his hold on Minhyuk’s hair, yanking, sending heat pooling in his groin as Minhyuk finally got a hand around himself, just to stave off the worst of the need raging through his nervous system. He didn’t do anything but squeeze, but still, the pressure was divine.

Eunkwang fucked his mouth and Minhyuk lost himself to it just as easily as he had when he had been warming him; to the rhythm of Eunkwang’s hips, to the flex of his hand in his hair, to the taste and weight of Eunkwang’s cock on his tongue, sliding deeper and deeper until it hit the back of his throat and he choked once more. Eunkwang pulled back immediately, smoothing his hand over the back of Minhyuk’s head sweetly.

“Doing so good for me, alpha,” He purred. Minhyuk surged forward, determined to take him all the way to the root. He swallowed around him. Eunkwang moaned, high and broken, so Minhyuk did it again and again, until Eunkwang pulled hard on his hair in warning. 

“Gonna make me come, alpha.” He panted and Minhyuk didn’t know what was wrong with that, exactly, but he followed his lead anyway. Anything his beta asked of him Minhyuk would do. He pulled off slowly, careful to not let Eunkwang catch against his teeth. When he spoke his voice was rough. 

“Need you to touch me.” He begged, pressing an open mouthed kiss to Eunkwang’s thigh once more, right over the scarred scent gland.

“Yeah, I can do that, of course I can do that for you, baby. Climb up here.” Eunkwang said, patting his lap despite the fact that his chest was still heaving, cock flexing and jerking as he powered through the thwarted orgasm. 

Minhyuk was quick to obey, not a single part of him wanted to resist the order from his leader. Even as an alpha, he wouldn't dream of saying no. Not when he knew whatever Eunkwang ordered him to do was for his own good. 

He stood, knees crackling despite the padding they had laid out. “Ah, I’m getting old.” He whined, pulling his own shorts and boxers down so he was bare and climbing into Eunkwang’s lap happily. 

“ We’re getting old, baby,” Eunkwang laughed,  wrapping his hands around Minhyuk’s waist to tug him closer, making sure he didn't slide right back off onto the floor. He smiled, leaning up so he could press their foreheads together, breathing in the scent of musk and alpha that surrounded Minhyuk. 

“How are you feeling? Still floaty?” He asked, hand slipping from his waist to cup his ass, squeezing a handful and pulling an amused laugh from Minhyuk. 

“Mhm, not so much after that. Just wanna touch you.” Minhyuk replied thoughtfully, grateful for the check-in. 

“Then touch away,” Eunkwang teased, head dropping down suddenly to bite into Minhyuk’s shoulder hard enough they both knew there would be a mark for days. 

“ Ah-” Minhyuk gasped, hands grabbing twin fistfuls of Eunkwang’s sweater, his head falling back. “ Ah - fuck, That’s going to bruise.” He panted, feeling Eunkwang finally release him, lips pressing gently against the stark mark on his shoulder, not deep enough to break the skin, but deep enough Minhyuk would probably feel the ache whenever he moved his arm for the rest of the week. 

“I have a photoshoot in two days,” Minhyuk groaned, head dropping down to pant into Eunkwang’s chest, smiling at the pleased scent that radiated from his mate. Bastard. 

“Hardly the worst the stylists have had to cover up, mister loan alpha . Letting desperate omegas maul you.” Eunkwang teased playfully. 

Ask anyone and Eunkwang was an unmated beta, the lone head of a strictly platonic pack. Ask those same people and Minhyuk was a well-loved loan alpha in the entertainment industry, called on often to assist packs in need, whether it be to escort an unaccompanied omega to a schedule, accompany them backstage or on set, or even to assist with heats. 

Loan alphas were nothing new, nothing taboo in the world they lived in. It was generally understood that people had needs and while in the past, a pack could rely on consistently having an alpha around to take care of heats, in the modern world when most people worked nine to five jobs that expected unwavering loyalty and dedication, it was just unrealistic to expect packs, or even mates, to be able to reliably get up to a week off work to attend to their cycles. 

That was where loan alphas came in. 

Well liked alphas in the community, known for being safe and comfortable and treating others with respect take up the role of loan alphas. Registered with the government and regularly tested, they were often called on by friends, associates, or coworkers to fill in for their pack's own alphas, or for packs that lack alphas, when a heat hit at an inconvenient time. 

 It wasn’t unusual for unmated alphas from platonic packs to take up a role as a loan alpha.

 Minhyuk had registered as a loan alpha in early 2016, and he was well liked enough to be asked for by other idol packs fairly regularly. His career was secure enough to meet the flexible schedule needed of a loan alpha.

The omegas Minhyuk helped had long since learned to not ask questions about the deep, scarred mating mark on the alpha’s inner thigh. Mutual respect (and the hefty legal contract that came with being a loan alpha) kept gossip from being passed along until it hit a reporter or dispatch, and every idol pack had their own secrets to hide, so they held their tongues. 

Eunkwang was not a jealous man by nature. Betas rarely were, really, but even without his dynamic at play Minhyuk didn’t think his mate was the type to get jealous easily. He was confident and comfortable, bold in ways he knew not many idols were and he didn’t mind what his mate did when they weren’t together. If things had been different, if they had met under different circumstances, Minhyuk could easily see a version of the two of them with multiple mates between them, but that wasn’t the cards that fate had dealt them. Regardless, Eunkwang was unshakeable, nothing could make him uncertain about his place in Minhyuk’s heart. He had secured his and his group's place in the industry, though it wasn’t the dazzling lights of foreign award shows, he knew they had their place in history. And he knew he had his place by Minhyuk’s side. 

He had little to be jealous of, really. Especially considering how he could have Minhyuk whining in his lap anytime he wanted, knowing full well that no one else in the world would ever see the alpha like this. 

Impatient, Minhyuk sealed their lips together in a searing kiss. He pressed Eunkwang back into the couch as he slotted their bodies together as close as he could manage. Eunkwang pushed back and Minhyuk submitted almost immediately, letting himself be kissed and guided down to lay across the couch, boxed in by Eunkwang’s frame. 

“Hi.” He smiled up at his mate, giggling against his lips. Eunkwang made him feel almost euphoric, every kiss and touch made him feel like a teenager again, thrilling, breathtaking, electrifying despite Eunkwang having touched him like this so many times that the universe itself had lost count.

“Hi.” Eunkwang smiled back, sliding his knee up teasingly between Minhyuk’s legs. It pressed against the hard line of his cock, reminding him that he’d done a pretty spectacular job of neglecting himself so far.

“Fuck, love.” Minhyuk gasped, hands sliding down the sweater, following the line of his ribs, down the stark line of his hips to dig into the curve of his ass, needing to touch.

“What do you want me to do?” Eunkwang asked, sitting up to pull the sweater off and toss it aside. 

“I want you to fuck me.” Minhyuk breathed, his hand ghosting up his side to trail over the large splotchy birthmark on Eunkwang’s ribs. He had spent hours kissing that mark until Eunkwang was breathless and writhing before, but tonight wasn’t going to be one of those nights. 

Eunkwang’s eyes darkened and he reached down to wrap a wide palm under Minhyuk’s knee, hitching Minhyuk’s leg up until it wrapped around his hip. He pressed his hips forwards, pinning Minhyuk to the couch so that his cock pressed right against his hole; bare skin on skin, too dry but so incredibly hot, like an iron brand against his skin. 

“Yeah? Is that what you want, alpha?” He grinned, and Minhyuk’s heart stuttered inside his chest. 

“Yes,” Minhyuk breathed, “That’s what I want.”

A canvas tote hidden inside the ottoman held all the scandalous essentials for a voyeuristic fuck outside of the sanctity of their bedroom. Lube, condoms, a neatly rolled up towel so they didn’t ruin the leather couch (or have to deal with it sticking to sweaty skin). It only took Eunkwang a few moments to fetch what they needed and then he was slicking up his fingers, warming the lube because as much as he could be a smug bastard, he was a caring one, and he would never make Minhyuk deal with the indignity of cold lube. Eunkwang nudged Minhyuk’s legs back apart to press a slick finger against his rim. Minhyuk groaned, hips canted up impatiently, trying to slip the digit inside.

“Relax, alpha.” Eunkwang commanded, kissing the very tip of Minhyuk's nose. He slipped a finger into him when Minhyuk gasped, petting his thigh soothingly. Eunkwang’s fingers were slick and clever, coaxing Minhyuk to relax. An alpha’s body was not built to accommodate this kind of intrusion but Eunkwang was gentle, wringing small groans and sweet whines from Minhyuk’s parted, panting lips. His other hand wrapped around Minhyuk’s cock, giving him two points of pleasure to distract his scattered instincts from what was happening.

“Eunkwang” Minhyuk groaned, eyes fluttering open, unsure when they had even closed. 

Eunkwang tightened his grip on Minhyuk’s cock, sliding his thumb over the head to gather the precome there, the glide suddenly wetter, easier, as he paid close attention to Minhyuk’s every reaction. cunning fingers

He cried out sharply as two fingers pushed past his rim with ease and sank deep inside, so quickly it stole his breath. He clung to Eunkwang’s shoulders, muscles trembling.

The fingers stilled, deep inside him. “Does it hurt?”

“No,” Minhyuk exhales. “Just surprised.” He laughed, still breathlessly. “More,” he begged, shameless for his mate.

“Impatient tonight” Eunkwang laughed, crooking his fingers up to rub harshly into his prostate, a jolt going through his body at the action. The arousal that had been simmering under his skin all night burst into a burning flame, rushing through him and making him arch his back pitifully. 

He felt a third finger penetrate, sliding deep and stretching him open in one smooth motion as Eunkwang twisted his wrist.  A harsh cry of pleasure broke from his mouth and rang against the walls around them. Those fingers felt so good, so good and so deep inside him, the intense sensation of pleasure magnified, his whole body rigid with arousal, hips grinding down on Eunkwang’s fingers, panting and whining in a way that made him feel dizzy when it echoed back to his own ears because that was him . That was him whining like an omega in heat, desperate to hang off a knot, and it was Eunkwang pulling those sounds out of him. No one else would ever make him sound like that. Only his beta. Only his mate. 

Minhyuk spread his legs wider, as wide as the couch would allow. He even hooked his hands behind his knees, presenting for his mate. Eunkwang purred in the back of his throat, not the enticing or pitiful purr of an omega, but the soothing purr of a beta. One that somehow both calmed the fire burning underneath Minhyuk’s skin, quieting the desperation that made his heart beat so terribly hard in his chest, and also conveyed to Minhyuk just how proud of him Eunkwang was. Eunkwang’s fingers stretch and fill him in all the right ways. Each time he spreads them, each rotation of his wrist is accompanied by a squelch of lubricant. Minhyuk cants his hips down onto the thrusting fingers, desperate to feel more, harder, deeper. 

There is a moment where Eunkwang paused, and Minhyuk was left floating in a sea of sensation, body and mind singing in the stillness. He withdrew his fingers and Minhyuk couldn’t fight the pout that overtook his face. “Hush,” Eunkwang scolded him gently, and he realized that the pout wasn’t only present on his face, it had worked its way up his throat in another one of those pitiful whines. 

“I’m ready for you, hurry up.” The alpha groaned, flipping himself over on shaky arms. Eunkwang’s strong hands gripped his hip and thigh, guiding him as he rolled over on the couch, chest pressed to the cushion and hips raised. Wet, open, presenting in the most pure sense of the word.  

“You look like an omega like this.” Eunkwang groaned, shuffling up to rut his cock up against Minhyuk’s ass, the head catching teasingly on the rim with each stroke. Minhyuk felt faint hearing his same thoughts from not only moments before reflected back to him from Eunkwang’s gorgeous mouth. He looked like an omega like this. Minhyuk was an alpha, he was content with being an alpha and have never even entertained the idea that he might be something else, but there was something that felt so thrilling about being his beta’s omega, even if it was only in little contained moments of time like this. 

“Then fuck me like an omega, leader.” Minhyuk gasped, teasing but with just a hint of longing. His cheek pressed against the arm of the couch as he looked back at Eunkwang, almost challengingly. “Breed me, Oppa ” 

Eunkwang blinked, a laugh bubbling out of his chest at the words. “The first one I can do, happily, but I don’t know about the second one. I don’t think that’s a kink I have, you degenerate.” 

Minhyuk grinned, pushing his ass back regardless. “Worth a shot.’ 

Eunkwang rolled his eyes, shifting his knees apart enough to steady himself on the unstable couch cushions. The slide into Minhyuk’s body was smooth and easy. Minhyuk's breath caught in his chest as Eunkwang finally, finally sank into his heat. Without a thought, Minhyuk let his hips ease back until the whole, hot length of Eunkwang’s cock was swallowed tightly inside his hole. A soft sigh of satisfaction spilled from his lips when he was finally filled so deeply, so perfectly. Minhyuk panted at the sensation of being stretched, fingers gripping uselessly at the smooth leather arm of the couch. 

“Relax, Minhyuk-ah.” Eunkwang murmured through grit teeth, his hand settling between Minhyuk’s shoulder blades like a brand, anchoring him where he was. Minhyuk was tight, he always was. Alphas were not meant to take another's cock, and though Eunkwang was a beta he wasn’t necessarily lacking. 

“Okay?” Eunkwang groaned, hips flush and still against Minhyuk’s ass. Minhyuk took a deep breath, working through the ache in his body, focusing on the familiar burn. He didn’t always bottom but he did it enough for this to be routine. Eunkwang’s hands stroked up and down his sides gently, working him through the initial stretch and burn like they've done a million times over.

“Yeah, yeah I’m okay.”

“Very good, alpha,” Eunkwang murmured in reply, caressing the palm of his hand down the curve of Minhyuk’s back. “Then show your leader who you belong to.”

Eunkwang’s name was spoken into the quiet of their unit like a whispered prayer as Minhyuk's hips found a steady rhythm. He let his hips glide forward until only the head was still inside him, before he pushed back again, enjoying the slow stretch as his ass was opened and filled so fully. Minhyuk hissed at the drag of his cock. This was always the part he savored most, the first few thrusts where he felt too much but not enough at the same time. Intense and all consuming and so connected to Eunkwang it was like nothing could break them apart. 

Eunkwang let Minhyuk work himself up, let him struggle and strain to find just the right angle, but it was never enough. Just when he thought he’d gotten it right, Eunkwang would shift away, and every little spark of pleasure hung just on the edge of not enough. He knew the beta was doing it on purpose, getting Minhyuk all desperate and pliant so that his instincts would scatter in the wind like chaff from grain, so that he wouldn’t suddenly try to fight Eunkwang for dominance, which could be fun sometimes, but that wasn’t what Minhyuk needed tonight, and Eunkwang always knows what Minhyuk needs.

Finally, finally Eunkwang pulled his hips back, meeting Minhyuk’s seeking hips. Minhyuk growled, pushing his own hips back harder, wanting more , desperately needing Eunkwang to lay him out and take him apart. His mind was nothing but a mantra of want, want, want filled with images of the pretty little coin shaped bruises that Eunkwang’s fingertips could leave behind on his skin, the scratch of his nails on his back. Suddenly, he was desperate for the pain of a fight, for the sting of being put in his place. The growl was quickly turning into a snarl, but Eunkwang wasn’t afraid of him. Never had been, not a single day in their lives had Eunkwang ever feared the alpha. He tangled his fingers in the back of Minhyuk’s hair and shoved his face down into the cushions. “Down puppy,” He laughed and Minhyuk’s snarl turned to an apologetic whine.

Eunkwang knew what Minhyuk wanted, of course he did, he always knew what he wanted. Minhyuk wanted to be fucked hard and rough, but Eunkwang knew better what Minhyuk actually needed from him tonight. Instead, he rocked into Minhyuk slowly, his thrusts measured and controlled. Like the vocal warm ups he did as naturally as breathing, Eunkwang always had perfect control over his body. Sure, he could play the part of the comedian, clumsily tripping over his feet, stumbling over thin air, but it wasn’t the truth. It was a bit, an act. Eunkwang’s body was his instrument as much as his voice was, and he knew how to use it to maximum efficiency. His hips rolled forward and then dragged back out. Flush against Minhyuk's ass for just long enough for him to feel the full pressure, the full stretch , and then he’d pull them back, dragging his cock out in one smooth, torturous movement that made Minhyuk feel lightheaded.

Eunkwang slid back in, stretching Minhyuk again with the slow push. Minhyuk panted openly in the silence of their living room. He couldn’t catch his breath, each lungful felt like it was being pushed out of him, all of the space inside of him meant for air and independent thought and consciousness replaced by Eunkwang. Eunkwang laughed breathlessly when Minhyuk whimpered. Tiny kisses, light as raindrops, fell onto the bare skin of Minhyuk’s shoulder and along the vulnerable contour of his throat. Minhyuk breathed out a startled laugh as those lips tickled his ear, and his mouth opened around a soft gasp as sharp teeth nipped at his earlobe. 

“Ready to turn over for me, alpha?” Eunkwang crooned against his ear, drawing back again and holding himself so that just the tip of his cock was held inside Minhyuk’s twitching insides. Minhyuk nodded, taking a steadying breath. Eunkwang helped him roll back over until they were facing each other once more. His hands stroked up Minhyuk’s thighs, skirting around the base of his swollen cock but not quite touching it. His thumbs swiped over Minhyuk’s nipples, head dipping down to catch one in his mouth. Minhyuk had never been much of a nipple guy, touching them didn’t do much for him. It was the simple act of submission, of letting Eunkwang touch and use his body how he saw fit, that made Eunkwang’s tongue laving across the hardened nub so exquisite. 

Eunkwang’s tip pressed against his stretched hole once more, sliding back into place like it never belonged anywhere else. Minhyuk’s skin tingled, his body felt too tight and wound up, feeling like every single nerve in his body was alight. His scent was flooding the room, arousal and steel and smoke and alpha writhing under Eunkwang’s touches, and beyond all that was the simple, straightforward pleasure of loving someone so much that it threatened to overload his senses.

The first thrust was slow, angled to strike at his prostate, and Minhyuk's eyes rolled back in his head. The world seemed to have shrunk to include only him and Eunkwang inside of him. Minhyuk wrapped his arms around Eunkwang's back, bringing the young man closer, their mouths meeting in a deep kiss. The sensation of his own cock trapped between their bodies, slick with sweat and precum, made him shudder. In some dim corner of his mind he was thankful he didn't have to speak for Eunkwang to understand how much he loved him, how he made him feel, because at that moment he wouldn't have been able to utter anything even remotely coherent.

“I’m going to start.” Eunkwang warned.

And then he did. 

The force and power contained inside Eunkwang’s compact body was mind boggling. Gasps and whimpers falling from Minhyuk lips as the beta fucked into him rapidly, hips slapping against Minhyuk’s thighs. He felt like his brain was rattling around in his skull . He felt so full, stuffed and stretched and surrounded by Eunkwang. He couldn’t control the sounds that were being punched out of his chest, Eunkwang’s hands gripping his waist and finally leaving behind those bruises he’d been craving, pulling him back to meet each firm thrust. Minhyuk felt like a ragdoll, a toy for his beta’s pleasure, clinging onto Eunkwang’s strong shoulders so he wouldn’t float away into the stratosphere and never come back down. 

Minhyuk moaned and squeaked shamelessly with every breath. His cock was heavy and hard between his legs, swollen to a dark shade of red despite the fact that he had barely been touched. He could feel the frantic beat of his heart and the simmering surge of blood through his veins; he could feel every satisfying centimeter of the magnificent cock inside of him, sliding so impossibly deep.

And through it all Eunkwang was a monster, his trusts unrelenting and firm, his stamina unmatched. Minhyuk’s mind was blank, drowning in pleasure and the cottony scent of his mate. 

Eunkwangs hips twisted just right, stars bursting behind Minhyuk’s eyes. On stage Eunkwang was a beautiful dancer, as skilled as any idol as experienced as them would be. But those fluid movements being applied directly to fucking Minhyuk felt almost too good to comprehend. 

Minhyuk’s hands skimmed down Eunkwang’s back. He grasped his ass in a bid to get him even closer. His mouth latched onto Minhyuk’s neck, right over his unmarked scent gland. Teeth nipped and sucked, just enough to leave a smattering of red poppy seed sized marks blooming in his wake and turn Minhyuk’s brain into a vat of quivering goo. "Oh god," Minhyuk managed as Eunkwang separated his mouth from Minhyuk’s neck to throw his head back, the pace nothing less than frantic. The couch creaked in angry protest. 

“Still with me babe?’ Eunkwang panted, voice unbearably smug. Minhyuk managed a nod, proud he was able to do even that much while dealing with the unrelenting assault of Eunkwang upon his senses. Eunkwang gave him a brief, toothy smile, then reached down to stroke Minhyuk's already weeping cock. Minhyuk absentmindedly noted his grip on Eunkwang was hard enough to bruise, but he couldn't let go. He couldn't get close enough to Eunkwang. He wouldn't have been close enough even if he found some way to climb inside Eunkwang's skin and live there. He was turned on beyond belief, Eunkwang’s cock hitting all the right spots inside him that set his nerves ablaze. His cock twitched and jerked in the tight ring of Eunkwang’s fist, knot swelling slightly at the base. 

He slid his hands up Eunkwang's back, tracing every vertebra and the wing-curves of the beta's shoulder blades. He met Eunkwang's dark gaze and it only took a second before their lips met in another deep kiss, Eunkwang biting into Minhyuk's bottom lip almost hard enough to draw blood, certainly hard enough to hurt. The pain faded into a suffusing warmth, enough to let him know his mouth would be kiss bitten and swollen tomorrow, leading everyone he encountered to question who’d left him that way.

“What’s this, alpha?” Eunkwang teased, fingertips ghost over the swell of his knot. Minhyuk jolted gracelessly at the attention. Knotting outside of an alpha’s rut or an omega’s heat was supposed to be difficult to achieve, but Minhyuk never found that he had much of a problem with it when it came to Eunkwang, and now Eunkwang was teasing him. Minhyuk should be annoyed, but all he could feel was unbearable arousal. Eunkwang was a force to be reckoned with. 

“ Fuck .” Minhyuk groaned, complying with Eunkwang as the beta lifted his leg, hooking his ankle up over Eunkwang’s shoulder, the other man pressing a hot kiss to Minhyuk’s mating scar on his inner thigh. 

“Is it for me?” Eunkwang asked, gently, a sort of calm, intense energy enveloping him. Minhyuk’s head fell back against the arm of the couch, eyes screwing shut to stop himself from coming on the spot as Eunkwang’s hand slowly slid down his shaft and settled around his knot, squeezing slow and rhythmic to counter the intensity of his hips.

The new angle drove his cock further into Minhyuk. He was writhing, back arching and legs twitching as he tried to fight through the overstimulation. Eunkwang pressed down, draping himself over Minhyuk so that his knee pressed into his chest and if his head was clearer Minhyuk would be thanking Peniel for dragging him to pilates. 

As it was, Peniel was the last thing on his mind, gasping into the shared space between their mouths, fighting the instinct to close his eyes. Eunkwang like this was a vision and Minhyuk couldn't bring himself to lose out on even a second of the vision in front of him. He thought briefly that this must be what looking into a black hole must feel like, something so primal and incomprehensible that it could bring you to tears. 

Eunkwang’s cock drilled into him over and over, pressing deeper than he thought his body was able to accommodate, holding for a moment and pulling back out only to repeat the process over and over, his hand massaging his rapidly expanding knot in an unrelenting search for Minhyuk’s pleasure. 

Minhyuk groaned into the air, teeth itching to bite into something. Alphas weren’t made to take cock like this. They weren’t made to be pressed into a couch by a beta and fucked until their teeth rattled. But this was Eunkwang, and Minhyuk was made to do anything for Eunkwang. 

“Fuck- Fuck , love, I’m close,” Minhyuk gasped out when the way Eunkwang squeezed at his almost fully expanded knot made stars erupt behind his eyes. 

Eunkwang nodded. Sweat dripped down the side of his face, trailing down his neck in a tantalizing line. Minhyuk licked his lips, sure his pupils were dilated as he watched the bead of sweat fall into the unmarked divot of the beta’s neck. 

Eunkwang grunted, pressing down so their chests were together, Minhyuk’s leg released to wrap around his waist instead. He captured Minhyuk’s lips in a searing kiss, more teeth and tongue than lips, though neither were in a position to complain about it. 

“You’re so perfect,” Eunkwang crooned, shifting to widen his stance so he could slip two fingers into Minhyuk’s open mouth, pressing down on his tongue filthily. They tasted like sweat and lube and Eunkwang and Minhyuk greedily swirled his tongue around the digits, desperate for anything his mate was willing to give him. 

“So handsome and strong,” Eunkwang breathed, pulling his fingers out to trail down Minhyuk’s jaw, smearing his own spit in sticky trails as he went, his nails scratching teasingly along the scent gland on Minhyuk’s neck, causing the alpha to shake; overwhelmed by the sensations of his mate around him, in him, the praise being thrown at him in that gentle tone. He was certain Eunkwang would be the death of him, and he was ready to accept that. 

“My powerful alpha” Eunkwang said, voice husky as he leaned down to press a hot kiss to the sharp crest of Minhyuk’s cheek bone, the sculpted hinge of his jaw, their bodies touching nearly everywhere they could, a hundred searing points of contact anchoring them together. 

“So good for me, alpha, so good for your leader when you’re like this.” He praised, kissing the tears forming at the corners of Minhyuk’s eyes.

“You take such good care of me, of the pack. So strong for us, alpha” Eunkwangs words were emphasized by the relentless grind of his hips, no longer bothering to thrust, simply grinding into Minhyuk endlessly, pressing on his prostate with every subtle movement. It was enough to drive him insane, out of his head and whimpering into the air between them. 

“That’s it, baby. Want you to feel good. You make me feel so good.” Eunkwang praised, tucking his face into the curve of Minhyuk’s muscular neck, as if they could physically get closer than they already are. His hand trailed down, tracing the ridges of hard-won abs, back to his throbbing knot.

“So perfect for me, the best thing that ever happened to me.” Eunkwang kissed Minhyuk’s throat, pulling a sob out of Minhyuk’s chest. It was too much. The pleasure paired with the way his heart felt full to bursting had him overwhelmed in the best way possible. He could stay here forever, wrapped up in his perfect mate until the universe died for all he cared. 

“Kwang-ah,” He managed to sob out, breath nothing but raspy moans, and cracking from the tears. Eunkwang reacted quickly, pressing his jaw to Minhyuk’s and scenting him fiercely, rubbing his floral cotton scent into Minhyuk like a brand. 

“Love you..” Minhyuk muttered, watery and weak. 

Eunkwang smiled, pressing a gentle kiss to Minhyuk’s lips, picking up speed once more. The drag of Eunkwang’s cock inside him had Minhyuk’s arms tightening, though he kept his nails from digging into the beta’s back. No matter what, he would never hurt his Eunkwang. He was a good alpha. 

“I love you too, so much. You’re my everything.” Eunkwang kissed the words into Minhyuk’s skin. His hand left Minhyuk’s knot, returning to his length and Minhyuk’s body stiffened immediately, jaw clenching as every muscle tensed to hold off the waves upon waves of pleasure. Eunkwang’s hand moved up and down, matching the pace of his hips.

“So perfect for me alpha, want to make you feel good.” Eunkwang gasped, nose pressed to Minhyuk’s cheek, barely holding himself back as well. 

“Come for me, love” Eunkwang kissed into the corner of his mouth, and Minhyuk was gone. 

His back arched, legs shaking and shivering. Lights exploded behind his eyes and his mouth opened, though no sound came out. He felt his knot filling out impossibly in Eunkwang’s hand, the beta’s grip tight around the base to accommodate it. 

One foot slipped off the couch to plant against the tiled floor, giving himself an extra bit of leverage to slam his hips in counter to Eunkwang, one, two, three more times. A keen of over stimulation worked its way up his ravaged throat, but it didn’t matter because Eunkwang was coming. His eyes went wide and unseeing. Minhyuk watched his face, enraptured by the play of sensation and emotion. He felt the rush of warmth as Eunkwang flowed inside him, no barrier keeping them apart despite the fact that a condom would have made for an easier clean-up. That beautiful whine Eunkwang made whenever he came filtered through the cotton in Minhyuk’s head. He turned his head slowly, sleepily, kissing Eunkwang’s slack mouth, taking in the beautiful sight of his mate’s closed eyes and knitted brows. 

He always thought that Eunkwang was the most beautiful person he’d ever met (minus those first few vain weeks at the company but that was Brain Dead Minhyuk from the before times). In the here and now, he was certain no one could be prettier than Eunkwang, especially when he glowed in the aftermath of pleasure. Contentedness bubbles in Minhyuk’s chest, a happy rumble filled the air between them as they both caught their breath. 

Eunkwang pulled out, hissing under his breath at the overstimulation. He flopped to the side, panting like he’d just run a marathon. Minhyuk shifted, pulling Eunkwang closer to him despite the layer of sticky sweat and Minhyuk’s come coating their bodies. Eunkwang snaked a hand down between Minhyuk legs and wrapped a hand around his knot once more, doing nothing more than providing a warm, snug heat until it went down. It wouldn’t take as long as it would have if it was locked inside someone, but the gentle pressure took some of the edge off, soothing his instincts and making his poor alpha brain feel less like it had done something wrong’ by wasting its knot. In thanks, Minhyuk pressed a light kiss to Eunkwang’s forehead, fingertips tracing along the edges of the splotchy birthmark on his side and exploring the softness of his stomach.

“Do you feel better babe?” Eunkwang hummed, running his free hand through Minhyuk’s hair gently, scratching at his scalp and drawing another purring alpha rumble from the man. 

“Mhm, a lot better.” Minhyuk promised, pressing a kiss to Eunkwang’s cheek this time. His fingers dug into the softness of Eunkwang’s hips and realized he was a bit happier than he should be that Eunkwang had seemingly given up on going to the gym as regularly as he had been lately. His hands strokes up and down his side, taking in the warmth and softness of his mate. 

“I love you,” Eunkwang said, smiling down at him. 

“I love you, too.” Minhyuk responded easily. Loving Eunkwang was probably the easiest thing he had ever done in his entire life.

“Hey babe?” Eunkwang asked after a moment of fond silence, broken by the sound of his nails scratching gently in Minhyuk’s hair. 

Minhyuk opened his eyes and lifted his head from where he was nuzzled into Eunkwang’s hair, humming lazily. “Yeah?” 

“Are you leaking on the couch?” 

“Did you forget to put the towel down?”

“...Maybe?”

“Then yes.” 

“Gross.”

Minhyuk snorted fondly, squeezing the softness around Eunkwang’s hips once more. 

“Shower time?” He asked, his knot was already going down more of a pseudoknot than anything, but it didn’t feel any less marvelous to have Eunkwang’s hand wrapped around it.

“Yeah, then bed. It’s like getting close to midnight and I’m old. It’s way past my bedtime.” Eunkwang laughed, shifting up slowly, all but dragging Minhyuk with him. 

“We’re both old, it’s ok.” Minhyuk smiled, kissing Eunkwang’s jaw gently. “We can grow even older together.”