Chapter Text
Everyone thought he was a beta. When asked himself, Jiahao would’ve said the same.
His secondary gender presented on time, yet his scent was always weak. Despite numerous visits to the hospital in case it was anything health-related, the results always came out as clean. There was nothing wrong with him, Jiahao was perfectly healthy.
He was just an omega with a really weak scent.
That never bothered him, having a weak scent. In fact, he saw it as an advantage. Being in the esports scene, it was a requirement for all players to wear blockers or take suppressants to conceal their scents. With his faint scent, he didn’t need to put heavy amounts of scent blockers on – he never liked how it felt on his skin. Jiahao could easily get away with only a single patch or one layer of scent-blocking cream.
It also meant that he didn’t need to deal with unwanted attention from alphas, either.
See, if it could be helped, Jiahao would’ve liked it if everyone mistook him as a beta. It was easier that way, with less talks and whispers about things that weren’t even related to his mechanical skills and game knowledge.
It also meant that there would be less stares that he’d receive if ever they found out that he was actually an omega.
Still, with only his teammates, coaches, and staff knowing his actual secondary gender, Jiahao supposed that he could live with that.
No one else needed to know, anyway.
“Make sure all your bags are packed and ready before sleeping, we’ll be leaving for South Korea.”
Besides, Jiahao had one goal and one goal only: to lift the Summoner’s Cup. It was his first ever Worlds, and Jiahao was buzzing with excitement following his impressive international debut back at MSI. He couldn’t wait to face the other regions again.
Round four of Swiss Stage ended with a loss against T1, and Jiahao was shaking.
The last round was determinative as to whether they get a chance at the Knockout Stage, but that realization was only partial as to why Jiahao couldn’t stop the tremors his body was giving off.
It was becoming unbearable for Jiahao to stay in their green room, his throat became tight and his lungs refused to expand with each short, sharp breath that he took. It was starting to get suffocating for him, being surrounded by his teammates and coaches as they were going over the game earlier.
He couldn’t remember what the last thing he heard, all Jiahao could focus on was the creeping heat that tingled beneath his skin, and the undeniable urge to retreat to somewhere safe.
A fleeting thought, and Jiahao had to swallow back a whimper.
He wanted his nest.
“Gege?” A hand waving right in front of his face snapped Jiahao back into attention, slowly blinking as he turned to face his support, who was looking at him with concern. Jiahao opened his mouth with the intention to respond, but all he could muster was a strained sound.
Wenjun’s frown deepened with worry, his hand hovering above Jiahao’s shoulder, close enough for Jiahao to sense the hand. “Gege, are you alright? Can I touch you?” He asked softly, low enough that the others failed to hear.
Jiahao had no problems with skinship, especially coming from his teammates. They were his brothers, those who never treated him differently when he was the only omega among them. Those he trusted that would have his back no matter what. They made him feel safe.
But Jiahao felt overwhelmed, and being in the presence of his brothers wasn't bringing the comfort it usually did.
He was thankful Wenjun asked, because even if Wenjun was a beta, the mere thought of being touched at that moment sent shivers running down Jiahao’s spine.
“No, I—” Jiahao finally found his voice, only for a moment as his throat constricted again. He swallowed thickly and exhaled slowly, momentarily collecting himself before addressing his support again. “I’m fine, but I uh…I need to go to the restroom for a bit.” He managed to reply stably.
“Okay,” Wenjun withdrew his hand, and Jiahao breathed a little easier. “Do you want me to go with you?” He asked, but their botlaner merely shook his head and stood up. “No need, thanks.” He smiled, hoping that Wenjun wouldn’t notice the strain. If he did, Wenjun kept quiet and simply nodded.
With a quick excuse, Jiahao hurriedly left the green room without caring to grab his phone. The walk to one of the restrooms in the arena was a blur, he wouldn’t even be surprised if he broke into a sprint. All he wanted was to be alone, hoping that the silence and lack of company would be enough to settle the blooming heat.
The moment Jiahao hastily closed the door behind him, he felt himself slump against the door and shakily exhaled in relief. The relief, however, was fleeting as Jiahao tensed up again and pushed himself off the door, briskly walking towards the cubicles. His nose couldn’t pick up any scent inside the restroom, but he had to check.
He had to be sure he was safe.
Once he saw that the restroom was completely empty, he swiftly moved and locked the restroom door. The tension in Jiahao’s shoulder melted as the omega wrapped his arms around himself with a small whimper. His body became warmer, and he could feel the stinging sensation behind his eyes. Every time Jiahao blinked, his vision became blurrier as the warmth began leaking from his eyes.
Jiahao’s hands came up to his neck, covering it as he whimpered again.
He forgot to take his heat suppressants, and the solace of being alone gave a him a sense of temporary safety, his subconscious easing up and allowing his pheromones to bloom.
He was going into pre-heat.
Jiahao was glad that he applied scent-blocking cream earlier, even if it was only one layer. He never found the need to apply more than a layer, since his scent was weak enough that a single layer of the cream would suffice. He just hoped that the single layer was enough to contain his scent from further leaking out.
He vaguely remembered that he had his suppressants in his bag, but he left it in their green room. With his trembling state, he knew he couldn’t leave the safety of the restroom with his scent growing like this.
Especially when he’s on foreign soil, and with no phone at hand.
Another whimper tore out from his throat, a garbled sob that Jiahao immediately muffled with his hand. He tried to calm himself down, knowing that if he panicked, his scent would spike even more. Shutting his eyes, Jiahao tried to steady his breathing, willing the burn behind his eyes to go away together with the creeping heat that threatened to burst and spread across his body.
He wanted his nest.
He wanted to be safe.
“Minhyung-ah, where are you going?”
“Restroom.”
“Alright, we’ll be leaving soon!”
T1’s botlaner nodded at his jungler as they parted ways, the latter going straight to their green room, while the former made his way to one of the restrooms in the arena.
Just as he was about to turn around the corner, Minhyung stopped in his tracks as he caught a whiff of something sour. The scent should’ve stopped him and reconsider going to another restroom, but there was something in the sharp, almost acidic lemon scent. His brain registered that an omega must be upset about something, and that he should steer clear from that direction.
Instead of turning back, Minhyung inhaled a lungful of the harsh bitter scent, eyes closing when he finally smelled the blooming undertone.
Honey. Rich and saccharine.
After inhaling another lungful, Minhyung’s eyes snapped open as it finally dawned onto him.
Just a few feet away, inside that restroom, was a distressed omega.
An omega in pre-heat.
Minhyung found his body reacting to the bittersweet scent, his legs moving on its own and taking him closer to the restroom, to the source of the distressed scent. The rational side of his mind yelled at him to turn around and leave, that an unmated alpha approaching an omega in pre-heat spelled trouble.
But there was just something in that omega’s scent – not the rich honeyed tone, rather, the almost acidic lemon scent – that caused his alpha to react to.
The people around him always said that Minhyung was too kind, having a heart too big and soft. He would always try and help whoever, even if it meant disregarding himself in favor of alleviating the burden of others.
He was too soft as an alpha, they said. Others would definitely take advantage of his kindness, they added. He was an alpha, but others would stop treating him one if he kept being too kind, they warned. But Minhyung didn’t find any fault in it, that was just how he was raised.
It was impulsive, it was careless of him to do so, but Minhyung wanted to help the poor omega, to soothe the discomfort that the omega was going through. In that moment, it didn’t matter to Minhyung if the omega was someone he didn’t know.
He just wanted to help.
When Minhyung was close enough to hear the muffled sniffles and sobs inside the restroom, he knew that he made the right decision.
“Hello?” He called out gently, slow enough to not startle the omega inside.
The muffled sounds stopped, but Minhyung could still smell the scent, could smell how the bitterness deepened after he spoke.
If Minhyung knew better, he would’ve thought that he could detect a hint of fear in the pheromones the omega was emitting.
“Are you alright?” Minhyung asked, keeping his tone calm and soothing. He had half a mind to hold onto the door's handle, but decided against it in case the slight movement of the handle would further agitate the omega.
He was sure that whoever was inside was staring intently at the door.
For a moment, Minhyung debated whether he should just apologize and leave. Maybe he would do that, but he still wanted to try and at least calm the omega down, even if it was through the door.
Oh right, maybe he should speak in English. They may be inside the KBS Arena, but this was Worlds, and players and staff from other regions are present.
“It’s okay, just asking, do you need help?” Minhyung tried again in English, remaining perfectly still in the same spot, paying close attention to the still-bitter scent, yet he was only met with silence. If there were any changes to it, if the sourness sharpened even more, then that would be Minhyung’s cue to leave.
“No need to open, if, um, you want to talk, we can.”
Just like before, the omega inside didn’t respond.
Minhyung took a step back, carefully slow, and was about to apologize and announce that he would leave when a small, timid voice finally spoke back in English.
“W-who…?”
Whoever was inside the restroom was from another region, judging from the accent laced in his reply.
“Gumayusi, T1 AD Carry.”
There was another whimper from the inside, and something inside of Minhyung ached when he heard that.
“You need help? Can I help you?”
“BLG Elk.”
That made Minhyung pause. His mind came to a momentary halt, clearly not expecting that of all people, he was offering help to the botlaner of the team they had just beaten to qualify for Knockout Round.
It should’ve been an awkward moment, but at every breath that Minhyung took, he could still pick up the traces of discomfort from him. What made him wonder was how the fear that was mixed in the flurry of pungent lemon seemed to dissipate into something milder, more of a cautious curiosity than anxious trepidation.
Minhyung realized that he was relieved to know that BLG’s botlaner, despite being in pre-heat and was approached by someone unfamiliar, seemed to not be afraid of him.
“Elk seonsu, anything you need?” Minhyung asked, racking his brain for all the English vocabulary that he has left.
“Uhm, I dunno…” Jiahao’s reply came faster than before, still muffled, the omega likely nowhere close to the door as he was conversing. “Staff around?”
Minhyung took a quick look around the area, craning his neck back to see if there were people walking by from where he came from. “Some.”
He heard the Chinese botlaner suppress another whimper, before speaking again in a tone that was much clearer than before. He really wanted to ask if he really was going into pre-heat, but based on experience from his own omegan teammates, Minhyung figured that being asked the obvious would simply irritate the omega instead.
So, Minhyung settled for another question.
“Do you have? For your scent?”
“No,” came the quiet response, followed by another sniffle, his tone embarrassed. “I uh, forgot.”
“Oh.” It was normal, Minhyung thought, to forget those things when faced with high-stress situations, especially since they were already at Worlds. “It’s okay, want to…ah, wait.”
Minhyung fished his phone out of his pocket and tapped it awake, opening Papago and typed out what he wanted to say, before playing the translated words in Chinese, hoping that what he wanted to ask was translated without any problems.
[Do you want me to go get your staff or coach?]
What Minhyung hadn’t expected was the sudden mouthful of a response that Jiahao gave in Chinese. He couldn’t understand a single word that was being said with how Jiahao rapidly spoke in what Minhyung assumed was a panic ramble, judging from how his scent turned more acidic than it was before. Alarm bells was going off in Minhyung's head, and he needed to act quick before the omega would further stress himself with the question Minhyung had asked.
“I’m sorry!” The Korean botlaner interjected as he made sure his tone was calm and gentle, “I didn’t know—”
“Please,” Jiahao gasped in English again and whined feebly, the omega clearly shaken for whatever reason that was unknown to Minhyung. “Don’t leave me…”
There it was again, the ache in his chest. Minhyung was glad at they were separated by the door, because he had no idea how he would’ve reacted when he saw just what expression Jiahao made when he said that.
“Okay, I will stay.” Minhyung cooed softly, typing into the app again for translation and played it for Jiahao to hear.
[What do you need me to do? I just want to help and ease your discomfort.]
“Uhm…no phone. My English…” Jiahao trailed off, and Minhyung had mentally flick his own forehead. Of course, Jiahao didn’t have his phone with him, else he would’ve told Minhyung earlier that his team was coming to get him, and wouldn’t ask him to stay.
“Oh, okay okay. No need to talk, I’ll stay here.” He reassured the omega, locking his phone and pocketing it as he stood guard in front of the restroom. Minhyung looked from left to right every now and then. The arena seemed to have lesser people at this time, maybe most had opted to use the other restrooms, those farther from the green rooms.
There was a small part within Minhyung, at the back of his head, that he hoped no one would approach them. He felt an unexplainable urge to shield Jiahao from others, especially when the apparent omega was in a vulnerable state at the moment and trusted Minhyung enough to asked him to stay.
Minhyung had just remembered to send a message to Hyeonjun and inform him that he would be back a bit late, but was interrupted when he heard a click of the lock.
For some reason, the level of trust Jiahao was displaying made Minhyung nervous.
“Elk seonsu?” He called out, his hand instinctively reaching for the door handle, but he willed it to stop and hover in midair.
“Phone, please.”
Minhyung blinked in confusion, his jaw dropping open but no sound escaped his mouth as his mind was still buffering.
“Uhm, translate.” Jiahao supplied, followed by the unmistakable turn of the handle.
Minhyung watched as the door cracked open, the smallest of gap, enough for a slim and shaky hand to reach out. He inhaled deeply and caught the whiff of the omega’s scent.
The sourness had mellowed down, but the underlying sweetness was starting to bloom. Minhyung could still smell the distress, but he felt relieved that Jiahao had calmed down as compared before.
Without wasting a second, Minhyung took his phone and unlocked it, opening Papago once more before he handed the phone to the omega, being mindful to not make any accidental physical contact with his hand.
He watched as the delicate hand slipped back in and the door closed, but Minhyung never heard the lock click back in place. He waited patiently, eyes still shifting around, still on guard, until he heard the translation being played for him in Korean.
[I’m sorry for making you stay; I don’t know when my scent will mellow out enough for me to return. I do want my team come get me, but I can’t stand the thought that I’ll be left alone in a place that’s foreign to me if you left to go get them. Maybe they’ll look for me after a while, but I just don’t know what else to do…]
Minhyung softened when he heard the translation, a soft croon rumbled from deep within his chest in a soothing vibration, hoping that the comfort of an alpha’s rumble would reach across the door and to the hiding omega.
When he heard the faint trill as a response to him, Minhyung took a step closer to the door, close enough to rest his forehead against it.
“It’s okay, I’ll stay. I won’t leave you.”
[Would they not come look for you?]
“I’ll handle it, no worries.” Minhyung paused, eyes closed as he gauged the state of Jiahao through his scent, his hand unconsciously reaching up to idly rub one of the scent-blocking patches plastered over his scent glands. “How are you?”
[Tired. I want my nest.]
Minhyung hummed in response, he figured that Jiahao would be tired. Still being under stress, not only from the game they had just played earlier and their side having lost, but also going into pre-heat right at the arena, an unfamiliar place for the Chinese omega, with no way of contacting his teammates for aid.
An idea sparked in the alpha’s mind, but he wasn’t sure if Jiahao would agree to it, given that they barely knew each other. But if it meant getting him back to his team sooner, Minhyung would at least ask him if he wanted to try.
“I can walk with you.”
A startled sound was heard from the other side of the door, and the translation being played came in a heartbeat.
[But my scent, everyone would know I’m going into heat.]
Minhyung waited for a beat before giving his suggestion, not wanting the omega to think that he had other motives for it.
“Mask your scent, with mine. Cover you with my jacket, if it’s okay.” He said slowly, not realizing that he was already holding his breath in anticipation for the response Jiahao would give.
It was to be expected that the omega fell silent, so Minhyung kept taking deep breaths, the honeyed aroma slowly making his head fuzzy, but he had to bite down on his tongue to not let his rational mind be hazed by the alluring scent.
He just wanted to know if Jiahao was still in discomfort.
What he didn’t expect was the response, all soft and quiet, almost shy-like. None of that machine-voice.
“Okay, I uhm, I think I can.”
“Are you sure? Just a suggestion, you can say no.” Minhyung asked, brows furrowed with worry. Even when he suggested it himself, Minhyung felt nervous again. Would Jiahao actually allow him, an alpha from another region, to enter his temporary safe space, and let him drape his jacket over him to mask the omega’s scent?
Jiahao didn’t give him any verbal response. Instead, the Chinese botlaner twisted the handle and opened the door slowly. Despite the small opening, Minhyung instantly picked up just how sweet Jiahao’s scent was.
Minhyung had leaned back and stayed still, not making any movement nor entering the restroom until Jiahao told him to. He stared at the now-still door that was left ajar, lips pursed tightly just so he wouldn’t taste the sweet honey that Jiahao was still emitting.
“Inside, please.” Jiahao called out; his voice tight with unease. “My scent…the door…”
Oh, oh right. It would be better to keep it contained as soon as possible so that no wandering alphas, especially unmated ones, would be attracted.
“Sorry.” Minhyung said sheepishly as he pushed the door further open and quickly stepped inside, swinging the door shut without having it slam against its frame.
When he turned to face the Chinese botlaner, Minhyung’s breath was caught in his throat.
Jiahao stood at an arm’s length, creating a rather reasonable distance between them. He was still wearing his team jacket, his cheeks dusted with a faint pink. He wasn’t flushed with his heat yet, but Minhyung could see the beads of sweat starting to form on his forehead, with some strands of his fringe started to stick together.
It was the first time he stood before him face to face, and a small part of Minhyung noted the apparent height difference between them.
Subconsciously, or maybe consciously, and if the situation was different, Minhyung would have called Jiahao cute.
“Uhm, hi.” Jiahao said shyly, a small strained smile on his lips as he handed the alpha’s phone back to him. “Thank you, and um, sorry for this.”
The apology grounded Minhyung back to reality as he took his phone back, not bothering to check if the others had messaged him or began flooding their group chat regarding his whereabouts.
“It’s okay, no need to say sorry.” Minhyung offered back a smile before he made a move to shrug his jacket off his shoulders. He was about to ask him a question, but decided to do it through Papago again.
[Should I scent my jacket?] Minhyung played, before passing his phone to Jiahao, who had no hesitation in accepting it from the alpha’s hand and typed his response.
[Okay. Are my pheromones that strong already? Would that be enough to hide it?]
Minhyung tilted his head and pondered for a moment, his fingers already reaching up and peeling away the scent-blocking patches on his scent glands while taking a step back.
“Maybe, we can try.” He responded to Jiahao. He brought his jacket up to his neck and was about to scent it, but stopped as his eyes widened. Jiahao must have noticed, as the omega gave off a confused noise.
“Is my scent okay for you?” Minhyung asked. He couldn’t believe that he nearly forgot about it. Not all omegas reacted positively to other alphas’ scent, especially those that are a total stranger to them. For Minhyung to have doused his jacket with his scent and having it cover Jiahao, he failed to consider ahead that Jiahao might not like his pheromones.
Jiahao blinked twice, his back straightening in alert. It seemed that even Jiahao himself also didn’t take that into consideration, didn’t even think that their pheromones might be incompatible with one another.
“Can I…?” Jiahao asked while reaching for the Korean botlaner’s jacket. When his fingers curled around the fabric, Jiahao leaned over and tentatively sniffed the faint scent that clung to the jacket.
Cardamom and cedarwood.
Minhyung’s scent smelled like comfort. The little tingle from the faint spicy notes mixed with a hint of woody and fresh citrus aroma gave off the feeling of being at home, securely enveloped with the grounding sense of relaxation as a pot of braised beef was being simmered and to be enjoyed after a long day.
Jiahao realized a little too late that he was hugging the jacket against his chest, his eyes closed as he nuzzled his face into the fabric.
When he finally came to his senses, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment as he fidgeted and cleared his throat. “Um, sorry.” He mumbled, handing Minhyung his jacket back while refusing to make eye contact.
Only for a moment though, as Jiahao glanced up and caught the Korean botlaner smiling rather fondly at him.
“No worries. So, is my scent okay?” Minhyung asked, still not bringing his jacket to his neck, clearly waiting for Jiahao to confirm it once more.
“Yes, very okay.” With that, Minhyung crooned again and finally began scenting his own jacket, rubbing every surface of the fabric over his scent glands, and nuzzling his face into it. Minhyung poured his pheromones into it, a spark of delight when he scented the player markings on the back of his jacket.
Once he was done, Minhyung made a move to hand his jacket to Jiahao, but raised a brow when Jiahao didn’t take it from his waiting hands.
Instead, Jiahao considered something for a moment, before he stepped closer towards him. “Can you…around me?” He asked shyly once again, his hands gesturing to the scented jacket first before he tapped his own shoulders.
All the while staring at the alpha straight into his eyes.
If someone said that there was anything greater than the honor of being trusted by an omega to be cared by the hands of an alpha, Minhyung would gladly fight them on this.
“Sure, yeah of course.” Minhyung nearly fumbled his hold on his jacket, and he certainly caught the suppressed giggle from the omega who patiently waited.
Gently, Minhyung draped the jacket over Jiahao’s shoulders, pulling the lapels together so that his jacket would rest on the omega’s shoulders. He even reached over with a soft ‘excuse me’ and fixed the hood behind Jiahao, blatantly ignoring the urge to glance down at his player markings just below the hood.
Once he was done, Minhyung stepped back and gave Jiahao a quick once-over. “Is my scent really okay?” he asked, worried that he might have overly scented his jacket and that Jiahao might find it too overpowering.
Yet here he was, smiling contently while being enveloped in the jacket of the botlaner whose team had just defeated them earlier during round four of Swiss.
“Okay with me, really, thank you.” Jiahao murmured, resisting the urge to nuzzle his face into it. He looked at Minhyung again, seeing the Korean botlaner visibly relaxed upon confirmation that he wasn’t overwhelmed with his scent, even in his pre-heat.
In fact, Jiahao found himself wanting more.
Minhyung’s nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply, nodding to himself when he could no longer smell the sweet-zesty honeyed lemon that Jiahao gave off earlier. “Let’s go, I’ll walk you bac—”
“Here too.”
When Minhyung looked back, he swore that all the breath in his body left him when he saw Jiahao extending his wrist to him, the sleeve of his own jacket pulled back to expose the milky white expanse of skin, and oh—
Was Jiahao asking what Minhyung thought he was?
“Elk seonsu?”
“Here too, please” Jiahao repeated, cheeks pink yet his eyes, albeit red-rimmed and puffy, shone with determination.
He wanted to be scented by Minhyung, too.
It was just his wrist, but the signification of it weighed heavily for Minhyung. Both unmated. Both from different regions. Both having little to no interactions outside of the rift, and yet Jiahao trusted him this much.
Minhyung glanced at his exposed wrist, before locking gazes with Jiahao, the latter giving him a small nod as if telling him that he was sure of what he asked for.
He doesn't know why, but as Minhyung carefully held Jiahao’s wrist in his larger hand, he murmured a soft 'thank you' to him.
He swore he heard a soft trill coming from Jiahao.
Just like his jacket, Minhyung began scenting the inner wrist, this time carefully and slowly. Soft rumbles vibrated in his chest, and if he knew better, Minhyung would have thought that Jiahao was purring in response.
Once Minhyung was done scenting his wrist, Jiahao withdrew it only to extend his other wrist to Minhyung, letting the alpha pull back his jacket sleeve before repeating the same ministrations that he made with his wrist.
“Thank you, Gumayusi.” Jiahao whispered delicately afterwards, his wrists pressed against his own chest as he curled his fingers around the lapel of the jacket, pulling it closer to his body. With the added scenting, Jiahao found that the budding heat inside him had subsided, leaving him with a pleasant fuzzy feeling. His mind clearer from the stress and anxiety.
Minhyung smiled once more, ducking his head in a brief moment of bashfulness. “You’re welcome, let’s go? I’ll keep you safe.”
With a nod and a trill, Jiahao followed Minhyung closely out of the restroom, and down the corridor of the arena, towards the green room of BLG.
If there were any staff that came across them, or had caught the curious sight of T1’s and BLG’s ADC walking closely together, they had opted to turn a blind eye.
Maybe, they’d whisper among themselves, about how BLG’s ADC was holding the jacket draped around his shoulders securely, knowing fully well the stark contrast of the black jacket to his white uniform pants.
Especially when the player markings on the black jacket belonged to the man walking right beside him.
True to the alpha’s word, Minhyung accompanied Jiahao back to BLG’s green room, stopping a few feet away from the door.
Jiahao turned to him, fidgeting once again. He wanted to say a lot, but couldn’t with the limited English vocabulary he had. Maybe he needed to retouch on it, expand it a little more just in case he would encounter the Korean botlaner again.
Instead, he settled on the basics. “Thank you, Gumayusi.”
Minhyung smiled widely, his eyes turning into crescents that made Jiahao smile as well. “No worries.”
He saw the smile on the omega’s face melt into hesitation. Minhyung wanted to ask what was wrong, but made his own assumption when Jiahao slowly began to take the jacket off his shoulders.
Minhyung understood comfort, and knew that feeling of hesitation when he needed to part with something he found solace in.
“Oh, no need, it’s yours.” Minhyung told him as he raised a hand to stop Jiahao. The omega blinked owlishly, not yet registering in his mind just what Minhyung said. He hoped that he assumed correctly, and decided to pull his phone out as he typed into the translation machine once more before he showed the text to Jiahao.
[Are you comfortable with my jacket?]
Jiahao glanced up at him and nodded, so Minhyung typed again.
[You can keep it, it’s yours now.]
That elicited a rather high-pitched squeak from the omega. Jiahao shook his head at that, gesturing the jacket before pointing at Minhyung. “It’s…your worlds uniform.”
Minhyung chuckled softly, and typed once more.
[I’m sure I have another one. You’re still in pre-heat, and things will get more stressful from here. I told you I wanted to help you, right? So that’s my way of helping you. I hope that my jacket would help alleviate the stress you’ll be in.]
There was a sniffle, and Minhyung looked at him in alarm, only to be met with the watery gaze of Jiahao.
“Elk—”
“Thank you. I really—thank you.” Jiahao said with a soft chirp, clutching the jacket around him again like a lifeline. This time, he didn’t hesitate in nuzzling his face into the fabric, inhaling the comforting pheromones of the kind Korean botlaner.
“This, I’ll keep it safe.” The omega murmured with a purr, his emotions nearly going haywire, but it ultimately settled down from the scent he was enveloped in.
Really, everything about Minhyung’s scent, about Minhyung himself, just screamed comfort for Jiahao.
Minhyung had lost count on the number of times he had melted from the endearing sight of the satisfied omega. He inhaled deeply as well, his alpha pleased to find the distress from earlier was completely gone, and instead replaced with the floating blanket of warm honey and subtle lemon.
“I will go now.” Minhyung told him, raising a hand to wave at the smiling omega before him. “Good luck, see you in Knockouts!” He added with a wide grin, hopeful that he would get to meet him on the rift again.
Jiahao seemed to share the same sentiment, as the light in the omega’s eyes flared with determination. He nodded, and waved back at the retreating alpha.
“We’ll make it.”
To say that Jiahao’s teammates and coaches were worried was an understatement.
The moment Jiahao stepped inside their green room, he blinked when he was surrounded by his teammates, all of them asking questions at the same time, not even giving him any space to say one word.
“Gege! Where have you been? Coach went out to look for you.”
“Are you alright? Your eyes are red, were you stressed from the game earlier?”
“AD gege, I tried calling you but you left your phone. Did you get lost? Did someone—”
“…gege, where did you get that jacket?”
Jiahao would have curled in on himself, being bombarded with these questions while crowding around him when the heat still continued to simmer in the pit of his stomach. To his surprise, he managed to handle the barrage of yaps from his teammates without having any anxiety knotting in his stomach.
Maybe, he surmised as he pulled the jacket closer to his body, that it’s because he felt safe.
From the corner of his eye, he saw his support inspecting the jacket that Jiahao was holding onto.
“Gege,” Wenjun said slowly, his eyes dragging up from the glaringly obvious golden logo with three stars above it. “Why do you have a T1 jacket?”
His toplaner spoke next, and only then did Jiahao realized that Zebin was standing a bit far back from him. “It’s scented too. Gege, did an alpha…”
“Helped me, yes. Don’t worry, he was really kind.” Jiahao reassured them as he glanced down on the black jacket, his lips curling up in another smile. “I…went into pre-heat, but he made sure to cover my scent using his. He walked me back here, made sure I was safe.”
His teammates visibly relaxed at that. Despite the worried faces of his teammates, Jiahao could tell how relieved they were that he returned safely, even if Jiahao was doused in the scent of another alpha.
Their AD gege was happy and content, and most of all he was brought back to them safely. Nothing mattered more.
Right after he was swamped with questions, Lixun ushered Jiahao over to the couches to rest while they waited for their coach to return. Jiahao wasted no time in rustling through his bag and pulled out the bottle of his suppressant pills. He popped a pill in his mouth and washed it down with water that was handed over to him by his jungler, before leaning back into the couch and closed his eyes.
The chatter around him began to fade into the background. Jiahao tugged on his own jacket sleeves to reveal his wrists, to which he brought up to his nose and inhaled the scent. The warm comfort lulled him to a safe place, and Jiahao felt himself dozing off while nuzzling the inside of his wrists, and letting himself be consumed with the calming scent of cardamom and cedarwood.
Jiahao felt like he could breathe when they qualified for the Knockout Stage after their win over G2. When they came out victorious in the Bo5 against Gen.G, Jiahao thought that they could go all the way.
He still felt the lingering tremors in his body due to his upcoming heat. Although he took the suppressants, it only dulled his senses and his inner omega from desperately wanting to mate and to be taken by an alpha’s knot.
Whenever the creeping unease and the blooming heat prickled beneath his skin, Jiahao pulled out the black jacket from his bag and wrapped it around himself, letting the still-present pheromones of Minhyung soothe his system and calmed him down.
Ever since the Korean botlaner found him in the restroom a few days ago, Jiahao found himself unconsciously seeking Minhyung out in the arena, even when he knew that he and his team wouldn’t be there.
It was just a few days that he hasn’t seen him, but Jiahao couldn’t explain the disappointed mewl that wanted to push past his lips whenever he couldn’t see him.
Jiahao shook his head and mumbled to himself, “Focus.” He needed to push back the puzzling wish to see the alpha again. Semifinals was fast approaching, and along that was their game against WBG. He was confident that they could make it to finals, but he needed to remind himself that he shouldn’t be complacent.
He needed to perform well, to prove that although this was his first Worlds, Jiahao would be able to dominate.
He failed to do it.
He failed to dominate and bring his team to finals.
Jiahao felt numb the entire time, from the aftermath of their loss against WBG to the car ride from the arena to their hotel. He fell silent, offering short whispers of comfort to his teammates, all the while clutching tightly at the black jacket in his arms.
When he arrived at his hotel room, he stared blankly at his bed, neatly made and so empty. He stood motionless by the door for a few minutes, before dropping his bag on the ground. Jiahao removed his own jacket and allowed it to fall over his bag, then he gingerly wore the black jacket. His body loosened up from the tension right after he zipped the jacket close.
Jiahao took a while steadying his breath with the help of the faint pheromones that still stuck to the jacket, then he kicked his shoes off and went to his bed. He stripped the comforter off the bed, fluffing it up in his hands before rearranging it around together with his pillows.
It wasn’t much, with just the fluffed-up comforter and pillows arranged into a small bunch.
It wasn’t much, but it would do as a nest.
Jiahao padded to the bathroom to quickly freshen up. He could feel himself whimper again, the heat that used to slowly simmer within him was now rapidly spreading to his chest.
Without wasting a second more, Jiahao turned the lights off and climbed into his small nest and curled up, his glasses discarded to the side. Soft whimpers kept escaping his trembling lips, but Jiahao kept taking deep shaky breaths as he tried to compose himself.
He stared at his inner wrists and leaned down, nosing at them before whimpering again.
He couldn’t smell Minhyung’s scent on his wrists anymore.
The brief thought nearly made him cry, but Jiahao hugged himself tightly and buried his face on the pillow. He no longer thought of tomorrow’s match anymore, no longer curious as to the possible outcome from the T1 vs JDG game. He didn’t ponder if JDG was about to be one step closer in completing the Golden Road.
For a moment, Jiahao didn’t think about the tournament anymore.
All he yearned, his omega whimpering for, was to see Minhyung again.
He wanted to see the person who made him feel safe and comforted.
Maybe by tomorrow, he might ask his coaches if they could watch the game. As he began to drift off to sleep, Jiahao thought how nice it would be if he was able to watch it at the Sajik Arena.
He was unable to ask the following morning, or even tuned in to watch it live on his phone, because when Jiahao woke up while clutching at the jacket he was wearing, he went into heat.
After a quick reschedule, BLG’s flight was moved to accommodate Jiahao’s heat.
The omega rode out his heat within three days, and spent the fourth day asleep, body recovering from the stress and heat that Jiahao had to deal with. Even with the suppressants that he took before, it wasn’t enough to fully contain his heat.
Not when he was overwhelmed with stress from their loss against WBG, and the underlying longing to be doused in the scent of T1’s ADC.
By the evening of the fifth day following their loss, Jiahao no longer felt the empty ache and the throbbing heat in his body. He had lazed around in his nest the entire day, blearily blinking whenever Wenjun checked in on him, and making sure that he had some food in the room for their ADC to consume in between his heat.
His mind was still fuzzy even with the haze of his heat had finally lifted. Jiahao stretched his limbs, before reaching out to grab the jacket beside him, bringing it close to him so that he could nuzzle his face into the fabric.
As much as it embarrassed him to admit it, but wearing Minhyung’s jacket greatly helped him in riding out his heat. Jiahao remembered how the lingering alpha pheromones soothed his pained sobs. How the faint mixture of spice and citrus freshness produced a warm and calming aroma. How he could smell his own honey lemon scent bloomed with the subtly spicy flare of Minhyung’s soft earthy scent.
The thought of his scent mixing with Minhyung was short-lived as Jiahao reasoned that it might be the delirious heat talking.
He had been inside his hotel room for days that Jiahao began feeling a little cramped. The Chinese botlaner exited his bathroom after freshening up, and debated with himself if he should bring the jacket with him while taking a short stroll along the hotel’s corridors.
Wenjun had told him that JDG was denied their Golden Road as T1 moved on to finals. Jiahao didn’t know how to react to JDG losing. A part of him wanted to groan, because that would mean that the LPL’s chances of taking home the Summoner’s Cup was down to fifty percent.
A part of him, however, felt a surge of excitement from the fact that Minhyung was going to the finals. He was an incredible ADC, his laning provided a thrilling pressure that made Jiahao want to keep matching that pressure with his own. His teammates had talked about the last two games between JDG and T1, and Jiahao concluded that Minhyung made some crazy plays.
He carefully picked up the jacket from his bed, staring at the bold ‘GUMAYUSI’ markings on the back, and gingerly traced each letter. Jiahao brought the jacket up to his face again, his lips moving quietly as he mouthed a soft ‘Jiayou’ before momentarily placing the jacket back on his bed, then moved to his bag and got his scent blocking cream and diligently applied two layers over his whole neck and scent glands.
Just before Jiahao left his hotel room, he gathered the jacket back in his arms and stepped out.
By some stroke of luck, Jiahao found his stroll to be rather peaceful. He hadn’t encountered other people staying on his floor, thinking that maybe he just got lucky at the hour that he chose to walk around.
It was evening, so maybe the other guests are already in their respective rooms or were having a late night outside. Either way, Jiahao could finally breathe again as he sat on one of the empty lounging chairs in the hotel’s lobby, watching the few guests come and go in a flurry.
With his heat finally breaking, Jiahao no longer felt the need to curl in himself whenever he crossed paths with unfamiliar people. He was glad that he didn’t have a sensitive nose, which abled him to be surrounded with others without recoiling from the prominent scents. He has heard other omegas whose noses were so sensitive, especially after a heat, that they could sometimes pick up the pheromones of others through the thin layer of scent blockers that was used.
He had dealt with a fair amount of stress already, and Jiahao wanted nothing more but to unwind on his own.
He took out his phone to check the time and the notifications he had received, before standing up and deciding to call it a night, making his way to one of the elevators of the hotel and stepping in. With a press of a button, Jiahao waited for the elevator doors to fully close.
Only, it didn’t.
The elevator doors slid open once again, and Jiahao held back a soft gasp as he straightened his back.
Entering the empty elevator with him was none other than T1’s ADC.
“Hi.” Minhyung greeted in English, his polite smile accentuating the soft features of the alpha’s face.
“Hi.” Jiahao parroted back and ducked his head a bit, highly aware of the Korean botlaner pressing another button on the elevator as its doors slid closed.
“How are you?” Minhyung asked, and Jiahao glanced at him to see the alpha standing near him, still maintaining a respectable distance from the omega.
"I’m okay. You?”
“Okay too. Tired, but okay.” Minhyung chuckled, and Jiahao felt himself smile more upon hearing it.
“Congratulations in going to finals.” Jiahao whispered shyly. He didn’t wish him luck, since he still wanted their region to bring home the trophy.
Maybe he still did wish him though, in his mind, where Minhyung couldn’t hear his cheer for him.
“Oh, thank you. Need to keep preparing.” Minhyung hummed, then gestured towards Jiahao as his smile grew wider. “Helped you?’ He asked, motioning to the jacket that Jiahao was hugging.
“Oh! Yes, a lot.” Jiahao smiled sheepishly, his fingers fiddling with the jacket’s zipper. He thought of whether to let him know that his heat had just ended, but decided against it. After all, why would the alpha wanted to know that part anyway.
The elevator came to a stop, and Jiahao looked to see that it had arrived at his floor. His shoulders deflated at that moment, thinking how he wanted to talk to Minhyung a little bit more, limited vocabulary be damned.
Jiahao rubbed his arm and offered a small, crooked smile towards Minhyung. “My floor, um…I have to go.” He said, gaze dropping to the floor as he reluctantly moved to leave.
His ears perked up, though, when he heard Minhyung spoke clearer, almost like he was a little closer to him. “Want company?” The Korean botlaner offered.
For once, Jiahao allowed himself to choose without having to think things through. This was the person who made him feel safe a few days ago. They may not have that many interactions yet, but Jiahao knew that he was safe with Minhyung. The pheromones that the Korean botlaner gave off was nothing short of warmth and utmost security.
That in itself spoke a lot, for Jiahao to his trust to an alpha from another region.
“Yes, please.” Jiahao nodded, pursing his lips together before looking away to hide his smile as he left the elevator, with Minhyung following behind.
They walked in silence, but it was the kind of silence that wasn’t thick and overbearing. It reminded him of when Minhyung had walked him back to BLG’s green room during Swiss Stage. They didn’t talk until they had arrived, but Jiahao found that he didn’t mind the silence. He may be a talkative person, but he guessed that basking in silence every once in a while was nice.
It would be nicer if he enjoyed the silence with someone, he thought.
When they neared his hotel room, the thought that this might be the last time he would see Minhyung brought a pang of sadness to him. They were going to fly back to China soon, and Minhyung was going to go back to Seoul for the finals. The only time he would get to see Minhyung was during Internationals, if and when their teams both qualify for it.
It should be absurd for Jiahao to feel sad about parting ways with him. He barely even knew Minhyung, but it was undeniable that Minhyung’s pheromones appealed to him just as much as his gentle kindness.
He was an alpha unlike others that Jiahao had met.
Jiahao stopped right in front of his hotel room, and turned to look at Minhyung. “My room, and uhm, thank you again for…” he trailed off, one hand waving in the air as a gesture for everything.
“No worries.” Minhyung smiled back, then tilted his head and fished his phone out of his pocket and typed on the screen before he showed Jiahao the machine translation on the app.
[If it’s alright to ask, when are you leaving? You don’t have to respond if you don’t want to.]
Jiahao perked up, relieved that Minhyung resorted to using the translator to continue their short conversation. He watched as Minhyung erased what he had written and passed it to Jiahao, letting the Chinese botlaner type his reply.
[It’s okay to ask. We’ll leave in two days. What about you?]
[We’ll be going back to Seoul tomorrow.]
[Oh, okay. Take care.]
[You too, and have a safe flight.]
Jiahao smiled and nodded at him, already making a move to get his keycard to go inside his room, but Minhyung showed him his phone again.
[Do you want me to scent my jacket again?]
Jiahao’s breath hitched, staring at the screen then to Minhyung, then down to the jacket that he was still holding in his arms. He brought it up to his nose, sniffing lightly. Minhyung’s scent was already too faint, as his own scent had clung to the fabric when he wore it during his heat.
He looked back at the Korean botlaner and saw no judgement in his eyes. He offered another gentle smile, almost like he was reminding Jiahao that it was alright if he wanted to carry his scent for longer. After all, Minhyung knew how Jiahao liked his scent.
With a shy nod, Jiahao passed the jacket back to its rightful owner, who took it from the omega and peeled off his own scent-blocking patches before going straight at work and began heavily scenting his jacket.
Jiahao waited patiently, wringing his fingers together as he caught a whiff of the warm comforting pheromones of Minhyung, and found himself wanting something far more ridiculous from someone that he doesn’t even get to see on a daily basis.
“Done, here.” Minhyung handed back to Jiahao the scent-heavy jacket, and caught the pensive look on the omega. He chose not to speak up about it, opting to instead wait until Jiahao would say something.
Somehow, that small gesture melted something inside Jiahao.
“Me too.” The omega told him softly but clearly.
“You?” Minhyung asked with his eyebrows raised. “What do you mean?”
“Scent me too, please.” Jiahao clarified as he tipped his chin up a bit, before his cheeks were colored with the faintest of pinks. “If it’s okay.”
Jiahao had asked to be scented before, but that was on his inner wrists. It was still a rather meaningful gesture, to be scented by an alpha that he began to trust. But this? To be properly scented, right on the areas that were vulnerable for the omega?
This was a whole new level of trust.
Minhyung felt a surge of gratification within him. A blooming sense of honor in his chest as he stared at the Chinese botlaner right in front of him, head tilted to the side ever so slightly, presenting to him his neck, even if they were both standing in the middle of the hotel corridor.
It was reckless, for both of them.
But the sheer look of contentment that Jiahao had when Minhyung scented his wrists before, it was something Minhyung realized that he wanted to keep seeing on him. He wanted to keep making the omega happy in any way he could.
Who was Minhyung to deny the request of an omega who he gained the trust of?
“Okay, it’s really okay. I’ll scent you too.”
Minhyung reached out to him as he stepped closer, watching how allowed him to pull him closer into him as the omega’s eyes closed. Minhyung allowed himself a second to carefully observe his face, even noting that Jiahao was shorter than him that he had to lean down if he were to scent his neck.
With a fond smile, Minhyung tipped his chin up and began scenting Jiahao, the latter’s hand coming up to the alpha’s shirt, his fingers curling around the hem of his shirt as Minhyung leaned down, gently nudging his cheek against Jiahao’s to let the omega know to tilt his head to the side.
With his neck exposed, Minhyung scented him thoroughly. He momentarily faltered when he thought he heard something, but he melted upon realizing that the sound was the soft purrs Jiahao was giving off.
Jiahao really felt safe with him.
Minhyung sighed softly, letting himself nuzzle his face further against Jiahao’s neck, soothing rumbles coming from deep within his chest as a response to the omega’s purrs, pouring his pheromones onto the omega in his arms. He felt how Jiahao melted in his arms, letting him be pulled even closer by Minhyung as the alpha thoroughly scented his neck and shoulders.
Minhyung could’ve continued scenting him, but he reluctantly pulled away from the Chinese botlaner and cleared his throat. He was worried that he might have scented Jiahao a little too heavy, but the omega still kept his wide yet shy smile as he opened his eyes to look at the alpha.
Oh, Minhyung breathed in awe, happiness does look beautiful on Jiahao.
“Sorry, too much?” Minhyung asked with a sheepish smile.
Jiahao shook his head, slowly uncurling his hand and releasing Minhyung’s shirt. “Not too much, I’m happy.” He tells him.
The Korean botlaner was unable to handle it, he opened his phone again and typed, then showed it again to him.
[Is it okay to ask for your number? Just…want to keep in contact. And maybe whenever you're feeling uneasy during the following internationals, if you need scenting again, you can send me a message?]
Jiahao carefully read the message, and felt his face heat up again. He would’ve panicked and thought that his heat might spike again. But the curling heat in his stomach never appeared, and the soft purr that he gave off was just a sign that his inner omega was just too happy.
Instead of replying, Jiahao reached and pulled out his own phone from his pocket, tapping a few times before he offered his phone to Minhyung to input his contact details.
“More than okay.” Jiahao added with a murmur, giggling at the sight of the growing grin on the alpha’s face.
Minhyung took his phone and quickly inputted his contact details and saving it, before he pulled up the same on his phone and handed both phones to Jiahao, watching as the Chinese botlaner saved his contact details as well and handed Minhyung’s phone back to him.
“Thank you. You should rest.” Minhyung told him, his eyes dropping to the jacket that Jiahao was still holding onto, then to his shoulders. He made eye contact with the omega, a wordless question, one that Jiahao understood as he handed the jacket over to Minhyung.
Without missing a beat, Minhyung took the jacket and draped it over Jiahao’s shoulders again, just like he did before. The smile on Jiahao’s face, however, was more vibrant than last time.
“Take care.” Jiahao whispered to him, his hands coming up to hold onto the lapels of the jacket around him.
“You too. See you…MSI?” Minhyung said with a hopeful tone.
Jiahao grinned and nodded, “MSI. See you there, Gumayusi.”
“Minhyung.” The Korean botlaner spoke slowly. “Call me Minhyung instead, if you want.”
That made Jiahao giggle again, “Okay, Minhyung.” He said, then patted his own chest, and said his name slowly with a chirp. “Jiahao.”
“Jiahao.” Minhyung repeated slowly, mumbling it twice more under his breath before he nodded. “Jiahao hyung, see you at MSI.”
“Hyung?” Jiahao asked with a tilt of his head.
“Oh yeah, it’s um…” Minhyung decided to use the machine translator instead, and typed on his phone once again.
[It’s what we call friends who are older than us.]
Friends, that surprised Jiahao. He didn’t expect that he would be considered a friend already. Then again, he supposed that since Minhyung had already scented him, he would be a friend already.
“Oh, okay.”
[What’s the term for you?]
“Oh?” Jiahao shifted his gaze at Minhyung’s inquiring look. “Uhm, it’s gege.”
“Jiahao gege.” Minhyung spoke slowly, letting the words roll in his tongue. “Rest well, Jiahao gege.” It was somewhat passable, though Jiahao was simply impressed that Minhyung wanted to use that honorific instead.
Just like back at KBS Arena, Jiahao watched Minhyung wave at him one more time before he walked back to the elevator. As Minhyung stepped in, he looked back and flashed a wide smile at Jiahao before the doors slid close.
When Jiahao entered the comfort of his room and climbed into his nest, the smile never left Jiahao’s face.
He couldn’t wait for MSI to come, and he will make sure that they would definitely qualify.