It’s only two days away from his eighteenth birth date anniversary. His Coming-Off-Age ceremony is going to be huge. His engagement will be a quiet one and the year they both are old enough to get mated (only his to-be mate in this case since he is an omega and needs longer time), their Bonding celebration will be illustrious. All the pack members will be invited. The Southerners, the Easternders (the Home pack for the bride), the Central-Southerners, the Westers besides the Northerners (the Home pack of the bridegroom). Essentially, they all are his Home pack but, they don’t engage with outsiders. Not after Them anymore so, there’s no one else to invite anyway. Also, he isn’t going to get married in the next four-five years so, yea. It’s a long time to decide who’s to be included in the guest list, who not.

Taeyong and his band of ragamuffins are crowded in the shallow dip of the stream to clean themselves. They’ll have to soon dry themselves and put clothes on because it’s the Omegas’ group turn next. He keeps an eye on Donghyuck, the mischief maker and Mark (who for some reason unfathomable can’t keep his wits about him around Donghyuck and sees red). Doyoung is picking at some dirt stuck in between the threads of his cotton shirt and is growing frustrated by the second. Taeil is moving his hand in slow, lazy motions on the cool water surface, both Taeyong and Taeil watching the ripples left in it’s wake. The water is cold enough to keep their temperature lowered. It’s that phase where monsoon has set in but, summer still refuses to let go. Taeyong’s body temperature is feeling a little higher than usual and he muses it’s his approaching Transition and the full moon. His skin occasionally feels like it has a static of it’s own which he can feel when he rubs his towel across his back and along his arms. He’s still partially submerged in the water waist-down. He sees Taeil’s nose twitch before the Omegaen scents fill his nostrils.

“Donghyuck! Mark! Out of the water, now.”

He is met with resounding protest. These pups are only teenagers. They cannot be expected to be mature. In fact, Taeyong wishes he could let them play around all day long like the pups they are but, he can’t. He sighs.

“The Omegas are heading over for their bath. We need to leave. Now.” Doyoung turns around, waddles and hoists himself up and out of water. “Do you want me to make use of my Voice?” He smirks as Mark immediately stiffens. Donghyuck only glances at him with wide eyes before his eyes shoots a glance at Mark and copies Doyoung’s actions. Mark is slower in following the other boy but, it’s okay. Taeyong knows how much Mark hates that voice, he knows Mark and the others know how much he, himself hates using the Alpha Voice to command anyone let alone use it on his friends. But, the Omegas are almost there and he needs his boys to scamper and clear away before the Omegas come to take their bath. Taeyong is high on propriety and so is Taeil who has been watching them in silent amusement. He watches Taeil follow Mark out but not before he throws a wink in his direction and Taeyong grimaces in return. He inhales sharply, a sweet tangy smell stinging his olfactory senses and his head buzzes and sees black spots in his vision. Taeyong clutches his head with one hand, blinking rapidly. Is this part of the Transition?

He can hear the Omegas talking cheerfully. He can discern Jaehyun’s voice; his bright usual self. Doyoung stops to chat with him and Taeyong hears the other omegas giggle and coo. He sighs. Why are the kids so reckless? He wraps the towel around his waist and uses his hand to heave himself up and - If Taeyong’s friends are reckless then he is sheer dumb. He is standing in almost all of his glory in front of so many unbonded/unmated/not-spoken-for omegas, wrapped up in a mere towel. He is no longer his previous skinny, lanky self. He is growing into his skin and must be a sight because he is one of the rare few alphas who managed to retain their fair complexion even after the years of gruelling under the direct rays of the sun. He is met with silence, all the omegas staring at him. Some of them downright ogling at him and some blushing. Then, Jaehyun turns around from where he is standing and both Doyoung and Jaehyun are gaping at him before Doyoung breaks into a grin. Jaehyung has a pinched expression that Taeyong doesn’t know how to explain. One of the omegas giggles and drops something and it rolls towards him because of the slight slope-y nature of the ground. The omega is stepping forward, blushing furiously and apologising while Taeyong is standing like the dead trunk of a tree and someone breaks out of the line of the crowd, grabs the bottle and with equal quick reflexes turns back to where he was. He isn’t, however, as quick as Taeyong whose right arm shoots up to grab the omega by his arm before he can even process what he is doing like the dumb alpha he always has been. The omega in his grip stills and everyone is frozen and good lord, this is embarrassing but, his head chooses to sway right at that moment and his grip on the omega gets impossibly tighter and he blinks to take in his features - blond hair (but a different shade from his), his eyes are neither too large nor too small and his mouth - he feels his towel’s knot unknot first as it begins to slip. In yet another show of quick reflexes, the Omega presses his hand against the material of the cloth to keep it holding just as it slips and Taeyong’s other arm falls smack right on it. The boy’s eyes are impossibly widened and his lips are rounded in a cute ‘o’. Someone gasps and they both hastily jerk their hands back from each other. Taeyong is able to manage to save himself from public shame in the nick of time. He grabs hold of the towel and steps aside - both their gazes averting, their faces equal shade of red - fast on his legs, away from the incriminating scene. He snatches his fresh, dry pair of clothes which he had left on a branch of a tree and almost runs from there.

Taeyong, of course, did not fail to notice the way the omega looked cute while sputtering and stammering apologies.