Janruary 6, 2015 AllkpopNews.com 8:45 pm

Latest story: PARK CHANYEOL BRINGS NEW MATE TO RED CARPET AT THIS YEAR'S SMAs by BlahRikeau posted 2 minutes ago

"Fans and spectators were given a surprise this evening when award nominee Park Chanyeol arrived with an Omega [...] Who is this Omega? Name has yet to be announced and an official statement has yet to be made by SM Entertainment. [...]"

As soon as the entry doors close behind them and they’re in the front hall and lobby Baekhyun stumbles with a gasp, latching onto Chanyeol’s shoulder for support.

Immediately the Alpha’s voice tightens with concern. “Baekhyun, love, are you alright? Do you need to lie down or—”

The Omega shakes his head and dips his chin, subtly poking his nose in Chanyeol’s armpit where the Alpha’s scent is strongest. The whiff of that excellent and beautiful dominance soothes the smaller’s aching wolf—he nuzzles the spot and Chanyeol doesn't seem to mind.

“Baekhyun maybe we should go sit down. There’s a lounge right over—”

“N-No, please, Alpha. I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure? We still have half an hour.”

"I’m sure there are people who want to see you. You're...famous, right?”

“They can wait. I don’t want to overwhelm you.”

Baekhyun subtly pats the Alpha’s shoulder and looks up. “It’s okay. Don’t worry about me. I want you to do whatever you want to, and I’ll take care of myself, I swear.”

Chanyeol eyes him with that critical Alpha stare that immediately pins Baekhyun down where he stands. “I believe you. But no one is more important than you, so it’s really inconsequential to me.”

The Omega blushes—he wishes he wasn’t such a softie for those sorts of comments. “Please, Alpha. I know you must be very social. I don’t want to deny you anyone else’s company; or deny anyone else of y-your company.”

Chanyeol’s lips stiffen into a line. The words “you’re all the company I want” are written over his face, but he just asks, “Are you sure?”

Baekhyun nods, though internally he’s cursing his willingness to be so selfless. He doesn’t really want to bear his face to more strangers, but he can tell that Chanyeol is itching to tote him around and meet with comrades. Chanyeol is just a social Alpha, that’s it. It’s not up to Baekhyun to decide what his Alpha can, cannot, should, or should not do. As long as Chanyeol is happy—he’s happy.

“But I would suggest we find our seats and park it,” Chanyeol says. “Otherwise we might get run over by admirers.”

“Okay. But—before we go, may I go freshen up for a moment please, Alpha?”

Chanyeol quickly complies and then walks with him towards the restrooms—three of them, for each rank. Some werewolves are pushing for segregated gender bathrooms as well, but the chances of the concept even being passed through the government at any rapid rate is slim. Baekhyun never really understands what all the fuss is about, and it’s why he often stays out of politics.

He squeezes Chanyeol’s hand and then slips past the Omega door, his semi-heeled shoes and rapid breaths echoing off of the fancy tiles. When he enters there are three female Omegas making faces in the mirror and taking pictures, huddled affectionately around each other. They pay him no mind when he enters and he’s grateful.

Breathe, he tells himself as he runs his hands and wrists under the cold faucet water, though it only takes a moment before he feels the adrenaline hit him fully and he has to lean his elbows down onto the counter with a guttural sigh. The irrepressible reaction of the fans and their screams still rings in Baekhyun’s ears. If that moment on the podium was all, though, if that was all he’d have to endure, he thinks he’ll be okay. No one will be interested in him after this, right? After tonight they’ll have seen him and then won’t care furthermore. And then he and Chanyeol can go cuddle in a corner, and Baekhyun can kiss him on the chin and they can giggle and start making their own memories together.

Right?

Anything more than this and his wolf will bear its belly, though he wishes he didn't feel this way. He wants to be more confident for his Alpha, prove his worth.

He sticks his hands under the running water again and lets them sit there in the porcelain dish, still trembling. Baekhyun thinks about Chanyeol—his dazzling smile, his warmth of character, and then his body relaxes instantly as of on cue. He closes his eyes and allows himself to smile a bit taking refuge in the knowledge that Park Chanyeol—his mate—is waiting outside for him.

He’s in the midst of pushing himself through breathing exercises when he hears someone’s voice beside him.

“Um—hello?”

He opens his eyes and looks to the side—the three females are standing there, wide-eyed and curious, their lanyard passes around their necks. They must be fans of someone here tonight, loyally and lovingly supporting their idols.

One of the girls lowers her phone quickly.

As if she’d been taking pictures.

Baekhyun gulps and stands straight again. “Hello…”

They take in his form; he must look like a glittery overdressed doll next to them.

The first Omega girl nods—he can sense her wolf and she doesn’t seem to mean any harm. “Excuse us, sorry, but I’ve never seen you before. Are you an idol?”

Baekhyun rapidly shakes his head.

They giggle as they already begin shuffling towards the door. “Oh, okay. You look like one though! You’re so pretty!”

“Th-Thank you…”

“Have fun tonight!”

“Okay, you too—”

But they’re already out of the door.

The Omega turns back to the mirror and eyes his reflection—the way Luhan’s makeup makes his face look slimmer and his cheeks brighter flusters him because it takes him a second to recognize the man in the mirror.

The Omega cups his hands under the faucet once again, then massages his cool digits across the back of his neck, and then at the front. It takes him a second to wonder if the heat suppression pill he took is actually working, but he realizes that he’s only flustered, that everything will be okay. Chanyeol ensures it—Baekhyun has always been taught by his mother to faultlessly trust his superiors. If Chanyeol says it, then it must be so.

At least that’s what Baekhyun is telling himself.

A minute later he skips out of the restroom feeling much lighter and his eyes instantly find Chanyeol.

The Alpha is standing a few yards away, his back facing the Omega, and he’s surrounded by a group of dominants dressed in nice suits. Baekhyun recognizes Junmyeon and Jongin—the others, all of whom are conversing jovially, are unfamiliar.

Baekhyun skitters to a halt and then slips behind the doorway of the bathroom and hides, peeking out behind the corner just barely. He wants to go to his mate, but he doesn’t want to face other Alphas (one of whom is female, to Baekhyun’s awe) and a Beta too.

He takes the brief moment to observe his mate: Chanyeol acts just how Baekhyun imagines he would. He speaks with such confidence, laughs with ease, and he’s very obviously attracting all sorts of onlookers and attention. Maybe it’s the suaveness of his voice, or maybe because he just looks so dapper in that suit. Or maybe it’s his Alpha energy—it’s loud, but it’s kind. He’s a magnet—he commands the social flow of the room, perhaps without realizing it.

And then Baekhyun catches one of the others looking at him and he shrinks back a bit—the Alpha that had noticed him grins and nudges Chanyeol, pointing Baekhyun’s way.

Chanyeol turns and smiles at the smaller, then beckons Baekhyun over with a wave of his hand.

Timidly Baekhyun inches out behind the doorway and sneaks across the floor to Chanyeol’s side under the curious gazes of the other dominants. He bows to them and they don’t bow back, as it is not needed for dominants to lower their heads for submissives.

“Is this your mate?” one of them asks.

“Look how cute he is,” the female admires with a smile.

Baekhyun can physically feel Chanyeol’s pride expanding. The taller introduces his mate (Omegas aren’t allowed to speak to their superiors unless spoken to directly).

“This is Baekhyun.” He introduces the others as Kris Wu and Minho and two others, and the woman’s name he doesn’t capture because he’s too busy staring at all the Alpha’s long legs.

“He has good manners,” the Alpha Minho muses. He turns back to Chanyeol. “You should have been there at the Autumn Banquet. The submissives were wild—drinking lots of champagne, speaking out of turn, running around flirting with everyone. It was so unruly.”

A low, displeased grunt vibrates out of Jongin’s chest. He rubs the bridge of his nose as he discreetly mumbles, “Watch it, now…”

“Don’t get your tail in a twist. Kyungsoo is as unconventional as it gets—I respect you for making it work between you two!”

Jongin groans. “It doesn’t always work.”

Minho puts a jeering hand on the other Alpha’s shoulder.

“I do remember you telling us all about spread legs.”

“He’s submissive in bed,” Jongin says with a slightly territorial growl. “But that’s it.”

“Excuse me sirs,” Chanyeol interrupts as he takes note of Baekhyun subtly sliding behind his back again. “This is indecent conversation for the company of an Omega.”

The Alphas quickly apologize. Jongin sighs. “You’ve got it easy, Chan.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve heard some rumors.”

Minho leans forward. “What rumors?”

Jongin raises his brows and points to the man behind Chanyeol. “His mate is a Primitive.”

At this all their eyes turn to Baekhyun.

“!” Minho breathes. “No way. Why do you get all the luck?”

Chanyeol gently brings Baekhyun forward despite the smaller grappling at his clothes nervously. Baekhyun can tell Chanyeol is excited though—it’s kind of cute, so he’ll just let the Alpha boast for a while. “It’s not luck. It was meant to be.”

Baekhyun takes note of the other Alpha standing there—Kris. The man’s eyes glint and a small smile turns the corners of his naturally scowling lips up as his eyes rake down the Omega’s body.

Chanyeol growls low in his throat.

But the other Alpha doesn’t seem to take notice. He steps forward and says, “Hello there. I’m Chanyeol’s producer.”

And then he extends his hand.

To an Omega.

Baekhyun stares at it. It’s not necessarily uncommon to see an Alpha offer to shake the hand of a non-professional, standard Omega, but it’s not first nature for dominants either. An Alpha will usually shake the hand of only the dominant mate. No Alpha has ever so blatantly seemed eager to shake Baekhyun’s hand.

But he hesitates. Perhaps it’s because he doesn’t catch the arousal in Kris’ pheromones right away, but Chanyeol takes a very obvious step and places himself in front of Baekhyun; this time his snarl is clearly audible.

“Whoa,” Kris says, taking a step back. “I was just admiring your Omega. He looks good tonight. Someone will have to send my regards to whoever his stylist is.”

“No more admiring,” Chanyeol seethes. Baekhyun cowers against the small of Chanyeol’s back, his wolf unaccustomed to being so close to so many Alphas—and being so close to an angry one.

“Feeling a bit territorial, are we?” Minho says with a snort that Baekhyun really doesn’t appreciate. Now would be a fantastic time to cool down.

Chanyeol sends a single nod to Jongin and then to the female Alpha, ignoring the other two altogether, and then swings Baekhyun into the crook of his arm and directs them away.

“Alpha…”

“Don’t think about it, Baek,” the taller says softly, despite his charged atmosphere. "Just relax. I want you to enjoy yourself tonight."

“It’s just…” Baekhyun pauses to gather his words. “I’ve always felt that being a Primitive Omega was a bad thing. I’ve always felt so estranged. Now everyone seems to be so excited about it, and I don't understand. What's so...interesting about it?”

Chanyeol looks at him and the Omega’s voice putters out. His unease must show on his face, because a few steps before they reach a set of double doors Chanyeol halts their walk and turns to face the Omega. His hands came up and rest under Baekhyun’s jaw, a cheeky smile on the Alpha’s face, and then he leans down and Baekhyun feels the man’s lips on his cheek. In quick succession and with little wet smooches Chanyeol kisses Baekhyun’s cheek, nose, other cheek, up his temple, across his forehead, and down the other side of his face. The Omega bursts into surprised giggles and squeezes his eyes shut, and then he feels those lips over his own: softly, gently, warm. His breath gets stuck in the back of his throat and the heat returns to the back of his neck, his wolf trembling. The kiss is stolen and then Chanyeol leans away again, grinning.

“How was that?”

“F-Fine!”

“Just fine? Well maybe I’ll have to try a little harder.”

He leans back in towards Baekhyun’s mouth, wiggling his eyebrows teasing the Omega, and Baekhyun’s cheeks flush two shades darker and he stutters,

“No, no, no, no, no! I meant it was great!” And really...it was. Like falling into a full bathtub, water caressing him and him down silky like powdered sugar, but breathtaking and shocking and heavy with the weight of water over his head. Like being transported to a new realm once his eyes are open under the surface. Like kissing Chanyeol.

Chanyeol smiles and instead of going for Baekhyun’s lips he softly pecks his cheek. “My beautiful Omega…Oh, have you ever seen that movie? The one with Lee Kwangsoo? Beautiful Omega?”

Baekhyun nods.

Chanyeol's voice picks up with excitement. “The first time I saw it I didn’t understand all of the emotion behind all the interactions—why the Beta guy was so in love.” Baekhyun feels the Alpha’s fingers absently the soft underside of his chin. “But you—giggling—god, I’m going to be perfectly honest. I got tingles all over. Look!” He peels up his sleeve to showcase the array of goosebumps rising across his skin. He pulls it down again and slaps a hand over his heart exasperatedly. “That was the most precious thing I’ve ever heard.”

Baekhyun blurts before he can think, “I can’t imagine why.”

“I’m attracted to you in every single way, Baekhyun, but you may as well be a stranger, and I don't want that to last.” Chanyeol says matter-of-factly as he approaches the alcove of the two doors, immediately showing a badge that he seems to have pulled out of no where to the Alpha security, and a second card that Baekhyun assumes is a pass for the Omega. Once in the clear, Chanyeol opens one of the two doors for the smaller and whirs him inside: they've stepped into a long florescent-lit hallway. He quickly joins his side and puts a hand on Baekhyun’s waist as if he’s been doing it for years.

“I haven’t stopped thinking of you since I first claimed you,” Chanyeol rambles, sounding excited. Around them all sorts of people in black, with earpieces and mics over their heads, and the uniform CREW word printed on their backs, bustle around them. Chanyeol speeds up, smiling at Baekhyun as he maneuvers them easily through the halls. “I just can’t explain it—I barely know you and yet I feel as if we’ve been together for years. It’s just this unquenchable thirst to be near you constantly. I just can’t get enough of you. I just—”

As if his own words hit him, Chanyeol stops and turns, hauling the Omega into a tight hug, a laugh bubbling up from his chest.

“See? I can’t help it!”

“You charm me, Alpha,” Baekhyun mumbles against the other man’s hot apricot-smelling chest, a smile crossing his lips.

“I hope I do. It’d be a tragedy if I couldn’t hypnotize you with my magical voice.”

Baekhyun’s smile grows, and he briefly hopes that his makeup isn’t smudging onto the other’s suit, but then he decides he doesn’t care. He says, “You’re cheeky.”

“I’m overjoyed. I absolutely cannot put it into words. If we lived in the dark ages still, I'd probably be running around the woods with all my Alpha friends in wolf form, howling and establishing my grounds and letting the whole world know I am the luckiest man in the world. If we still lived in packs I'd be hunting now, preparing to bring you the best and biggest bounty." He laughs at himself, at the total randomness of his statement. Clearly he knows something about ancestry. "What's that called again?"

Chanyeol is referring to the historical werewolf behavior he mentioned, and Baekhyun easily remembers from his history lessons.

"A Victory Hunt. Werewolves stopped doing those around the end of the 18th century, and replaced the tradition with a small banquet and presentation of gifts, at least until packs dissolved."

The Alpha leans away, his brow lifted a hair in curiosity. "You remember that off the top of your head?"

Baekhyun turns his head away as a small pinch of second-hand embarrassment hits him, the first-hand embarrassment being only the mere existence of his family. He doesn't think Chanyeol needs to know about all that right now. "Yeah, I guess."

Chanyeol smiles again, and then turns Baekhyun's shoulders towards the wall behind them. There's a plain white door there, one among many, and the plate beside it on the wall reads: WAITING ROOM - PARK CHANYEOL

He welcomes the Omega inside a small and cozy room, complete with a miniature lounge and bathroom, and on one wall is a rack with what looks like to be just an outfit, and along another is a makeup table, and along the other bare one is a snack bar. A TV, or more likely a simple monitor, shows what's being broadcasted live in television of the event: right now it shows an empty stage, though its glowing with light.

They're alone finally, finally Baekhyun realizes. No stylists as of yet, no driver, no fans or cameras, no manager, no curious onlookers. 

Chanyeol separates himself from Baekhyun and with a gleeful sigh, allows himself to fall back onto one of the shockingly white sofas, his body bouncing on the cushion. He giggles and Baekhyun watches him endearingly. Like this, flattened lazily on the couch, his eyes only for the Omega, Park Chanyeol seems more like a real person. 

Baekhyun strolls up behind the couch, his hand the backrest. "You really are cheeky," he mutters softly to the taller.

"And you're adorable," Chanyeol sighs, and in one swift motion he sits up and lassos his arms around Baekhyun's midsection with a haughty, "Come here you!"

And then Baekhyun shrieks as he's pulled over the back of the couch haphazardly and drops onto the Alpha, their bodies colliding harshly. They both guffaw with a hint of pain, but it's completely inconsequential. Baekhyun tries to arrange himself clumsily without hurting Chanyeol while a laugh escapes his mouth, and Chanyeol tries to shift beneath him to organize their limbs, but before Baekhyun can get up Chanyeol tugs him down again.

And then the Alpha tickles him.

Baekhyun shrieks and squirms, scrunching up his shoulders and trying to hide his completely vulnerable armpits, but in doing so he collapses back onto the Alpha, who continues to scatter his playful fingers over Baekhyun's sensitive skin. The Omega erupts with laughter and finds himself pinned against the back of the sofa, the two of them somehow impossibly fitting in the width of the cushions: the back of the seat like an encompassing mountain and the other edge like a cliff, to which they would fall to their doom. These two things force them to press together as Baekhyun tries to escape the Alpha's tickling advances, his laughs of protest rolling out of his mouth in between squeals of breathlessness. Chanyeol is laughing too, laughing and smiling and making Baekhyun feel all kinds of emotions that he never thought he'd ever ever experience. Now more than ever a fire churns in his chest, a lightness burns in his stomach, a dizziness whirs in his head that makes him feel weightless, and so incredibly in love.

Chanyeol slows his advancing fingers to the tune of Baekhyun's dying giggles, turning into more of babyish babble and the cutest of mousy laughter.

"My beautiful Omega," the Alpha croons, and suddenly much of the lightness is gone, replaced by the startling realization of Chanyeol's heat so heavy on his body, the Alpha's eyes gently holding Baekhyun's gaze to his. It just feels so real, and surreal at once. Baekhyun doesn't think he's ever felt so happy.

"Our clothes will be wrinkled," Baekhyun states belatedly, his cheek burning and sore from laughing so hard and being unable to suppress his smile.

Chanyeol grins. "I don't care."

"Is the waiting room just for tickling your Omega?"

Chanyeol psh-aws and pushes himself slightly away from Baekhyun, allowing the Omega to catch his breath fully. "Nope. I mean, it could be. I'm performing later tonight, and I'm coming here to get ready beforehand. In case you get lost, or can't find me, or just need a break, or have a low blood sugar and want something to eat, this is the place you can go to. Okay?"

The Omega nods quietly and leans back, resting into the couch, though he's sure that the only safe and comforting place for him at this point is with his...his mate. He doesn't feel like being separated from him for a second, and after their brief encounter here, he's deducted that Chanyeol is funnier than Baekhyun had originally perceived him to be. He'll have to look it up later.

For a moment he wants to smack himself. What is he thinking, he'll look it up later? Park Chanyeol is sitting in front of him. The real thing is right there. He could just mention it, or ask him about it. 

But the words get stuck in his throat, his shyness returning when Chanyeol continues to watch him. Just say something! he shrills in his head. Don't let your submission get the better of you opening up and speaking your mind!

Just as Chanyeol shifts again, it is then that their favorite Beta’s voice interrupts them.

The door flings open and Junmyeon stands in the doorway, a few people that look like staff behind him. “Come on, you two - " He pauses, eyes slightly widened at the scene before him. Beside Baekhyun, Chanyeol sighs and rolls off the couch and to his feet. The Beta man recovers. "The stage director is looking for you Chanyeol, and you're in here...snogging?" Confusion is like a tightly wound string in Junmyeon's voice. He isn't the only befuddled one in the room, Baekhyun thinks to himself.

Baekhyun takes Chanyeol’s hand, the one offered out to him, and feels himself being lifted to his feet. He glances up uneasily.

Chanyeol explains as they start after Junmyeon, out of the waiting room. “I have to meet with the guys who have my microphone.”

“Oh. O-Okay.”

“You don’t worry about a thing. There’s no problem. It’ll only take a few minutes.”

Baekhyun follows Chanyeol and Junmyeon through a set of doors that lead to a darkened room, behind which is a long black curtain, and from beyond it Baekhyun can hear the amassing crowd and smell a cocktail of scents. He realizes they’re under the stage.

He tries to stand a few feet away to give Chanyeol and the other smart looking crewmembers some privacy (absently noting their wolf ranks as everyone does), but Chanyeol insists on holding his hand anyway. Baekhyun gets lost early into the conversation, his heart pounding with adrenaline just knowing the big, important, flashy stage is just above their heads. What if they accidentally turn on the mic Chanyeol is holding in his hands?

Baekhyun wonders what he would do if he was on stage with all those people watching him, all those lights, all that energy.

The thought makes him flush. There are very few times Baekhyun has been on stage. He was a junior and senior in high school when he joined the school musicals, and once got a lead role (“Sing out!” his director always said. “You have a beautiful voice, my boy. Louder!”). He enjoyed it for the most part. But that was it, other than piano recitals when he was younger, and later when his mother made him take a dance class for traditional Omega dances there were short concerts. His teacher had made him a Prima Dancer of the dance school and decided him a near-virtuoso in historic pack dances. But the concerts were always modest, despite the admiration the general public has for those who make the past come to life before their eyes.

This hardly compares. Just standing under the expansive stage is exhilarating.

There’s a dark pinch in the Omega’s gut. Doubt twines like a thorny vine around his stomach—Chanyeol lives half of his life on stage. He is familial with bright lights and loud music, pounding beats and adrenaline highs. Chanyeol has seen some of the world’s largest stages. He works a dazzling career and lives with glittering fame in a halo above his head.

How could he possible settle for someone as dull and plain as Baekhyun? Someone quiet and timid, unsocial and boring? Being Primitive is the most exciting thing about him and he survives only by suppressing it. 

He’s going to bore Chanyeol, isn’t he?

He knows he's being ridiculous. He knows they just shared a beautiful moment. But the feelings still stir up an apocalypse in his stomach.

He’s sure Chanyeol can sense his anxious pheromones, his inner wolf whimpering and sulking. But he doesn’t face the Omega until he finishes speaking with the others. Then Junmyeon gives him a quick lecture about being on time (“Don’t go making out with your mate in the back now.”) and then ushers them across the small space, away from the VIP doors that lead into the stadium.

They enter a darkened space, and go up a small flight of metal, rickety stairs that creak under their shared weights, and then the space opens up into a vaulting high ceiling, though it's still intensely dark. Crew bustles around them, and with his trained werewolf eyes Baekhyun can make out cords and plugs and speakers and all sorts of gadgets around them. He tries to gather his bearings as a small hint of panic makes its way up to his chest, for he now has no idea where he is, and he wishes Chanyeol would tell him what's going on exactly.

And then Baekhyun's eyes widen as a group of girls passes by.

But not just any girls.

It's a K-pop group, the small women wrapped in short skirts and high heels and all sorts of sparkles, and their faces dazzle in the prettiest ways that make Baekhyun want to duck his head, which he eventually does. 

It's Puppy Love. The group, Puppy Love. He doesn't know many pop artists - in fact, he only knows one (besides Chanyeol now) - and they just passed by him.

It hits him.

They're in the wings of the stage.

The concept throws him off even more, and he jerks his head from side to side, and tries to peek over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of the famed dais. It takes a second, but somewhere in the corner of the black box it feels like they are in he sees a sliver of golden and silver light, and his heart skips. They must be towards the back, or slightly behind the front of the stage. Twisting back to see the glorious rays causes him to stumble though, and Chanyeol holds him upright and catches him blushing, having taken an embarrassing sense of awe to the stage. Being back here reminds him of the first time he did a performance at the local theater as a Prima Dancer, just a few years ago. He was sixteen when he supposedly mastered the traditional dances, and after that day his parents received all sorts of courting requests from admirers. But that didn't matter: he remembers the evening clearly. He remembers being on stage, he remembers moving to the music, he remembers the applause, but most of all he remembers the anticipation. Standing behind the curtains and gazing out onto the bare stage as the lights darkened, knowing that he'd be going out there alone and knowing that the floor looks far different when he's actually standing out there than it does in the wings. He remembers the uncertainty of all those eyes on him churning his gut, but he also recalls a sense of confidence, knowing that he earned his title and had progressed beyond his years. And so he deserved the standing ovation and the banquets of flowers.

This is like that, except not. He's not the one going on stage, and this is unfamiliar territory. Literally, for his wolf. The scale of the grandeur is more than ten times the size, and he feels inexperienced and lost here, save for the warm and loving hand that wraps around his and the husky and fresh scent of apricots.

"Quickly, now," Junmyeon ushers them as he scrutinizes a sheet of paper with his nocturnal eyes. "Chanyeol, you're in the first line. Remember what to do? You've done this before, just show your stuff."

"I don't understand," Baekhyun whispers, clutching closer to Chanyeol.

The Alpha turns to him and his brow rises with delight, as if he's excited to share his experience with someone new this year. "The grand opening. The nominated artists all go up on stage and they announce all of us before the show begins."

Baekhyun feels his fingers begin to shake. "Wh-What? Wait - "

"You're going to stay backstage," Junmyeon says over his shoulder as he directs them out from the impending darkness of the nearby wings, and into a shockingly bright room where many artists seem to be in wait. The walk by them. "You'll stay in the wings with me. Idols don't bring out their mates for the opening."

"Wait," Baekhyun hiccups, clasping Chanyeol's shoulder. They've stepped into an alcove, but it doesn't offer much privacy. "Wait where will you be? How long will it take? Who will I - " He stops, flustered by the fact that the next question that was about to come out of his mouth was Who will I cling to?

"It's alright," Chanyeol says as he squeezes their fingers together and nudges Baekhyun. "It takes less than ten minutes. You just wait for me backstage and when they're done with the opening, I'll come get you and we'll go to our seats. Okay?"

Despite the unrest in his chest, Baekhyun nods.

He feels a pair of fingers brushing back a stray hair behind his ear. "You're beautiful," Chanyeol muses.

"Hold on,” Baekhyun whispers, gently bringing Chanyeol's fingers to a stop. It feels so natural as he creeps up onto his tip-toes and fingers the Alpha’s coat, then quickly fixes his messed hair. Chanyeol grins.

“You’re such an Omega. It’s cute.” His voice is soft and sweet like honey, warm and homey and it lifts the Omega’s spirits. Junmyeon grunts and walks a few paces away. “You smell delicious,” Chanyeol adds. He sniffs. “Cinnamon.” Again. “Honey, lavender.” And again: Baekhyun giggles as the taller’s nose tickles his scalp. “Vanilla. Your natural musk.”

Of course, Baekhyun only smells this way figuratively. A wolf’s scent is it’s own flavor, but Chanyeol does his best in describing it with the scents he is familiar with.

“The lavender isn’t natural,” Baekhyun mumbles as a sort of confession. “I take herb-infused scented baths. My mother has always enforced and encouraged it and taught that it is necessary since I came of age.”

Chanyeol looked at him owlishly. “Herb baths? I didn’t think Omegas did that anymore. I thought that just happened in the old days.”

"At the start of the 19th century, when werewolves went through a phase of deciding we would have a hierarchy of noble families and a more advanced society began developing in packs, is when that luxurious lifestyle prospered. Silks and gowns and herb baths..." Baekhyun blinks up at Chanyeol's wide expression, awed at his knowledge, and he flushes. He admits under his breath, “My father used to be Lycan. It is traditional in our family…”

He sees Chanyeol’s jaw drop in his peripheral vision. “No way! Lycan? Like the Amish?”

“Y-Yes…”

Lycans are known as individuals that believe unwaveringly in ancient traditions: they live on plots of land in the woods, and in furs, and live like the first werewolves. They’re highly religious of their Lycanthropy roots. They intermarry and intermate, live simple lives away from the modern world, and are compared to the Amish. A few years ago some scientists went out to their societies and did blood and DNA tests, and found that their werewolf genes are “purer” and closer to true werewolf roots.

Baekhyun’s Lycan father and strictly traditional mother are the reasons that ensure his Primitive genes, the kind of genes that are only seen in werewolf Lycan societies today or in science textbooks.

“Wow,” Chanyeol breathes. “Lycan. I have a bunch of questions now—I feel like those societies are so closed off and exclusive, you know? I feel like seeing a Lycan settlement would be like stepping back in time. Have you ever seen it?”

Baekhyun nods, recalling awkward family reunions in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by his wolfish family, sleeping on pelts around a fire, spending half of the day in wolf form…bathing in tubs of jasmine-scented water, doing traditional chores like weaving, bringing up the rear in a hunt, or cleaning the pups. The pack out there that his father is from adores Baekhyun and considers him a decent Omega, but they deeply disapprove of his mother’s insisting to live in the modern world.

“It’s an easy way to ruin a perfectly good Omega,” his grandmother—his father’s mother—had said. The pack shaman and elders had even already decided on a supposedly perfect match for Baekhyun as a mate should he ever decide to rejoin them: what was his name again? Daehyun?

Not that joining the Lycan community isn’t an option. Baekhyun has always considered it, since he’d be a little less estranged, not so ostracized for being “traditional”.

The thought makes his stomach drop. Shoot. They’re going to want to meet Chanyeol. 

“It’s exactly what you would imagine it to be," Baekhyun says slowly, wishing they could bypass this conversation. "Whatever you’re picturing, that’s what it looks like.”

“Wow. That’s pretty cool.”

Baekhyun shrugs, nods. He finishes Chanyeol’s bowtie and meets his gaze, those eyes that are full of thought, of calculation. Baekhyun feels the air thicken between them.

“What you were doing just now...” Chanyeol starts, and Baekhyun already knows where this conversation is going. 

“Y-Yeah?”

Chanyeol blinks, then says, “Tonight, after the show, would you please come with me back to my place? Only if you're comfortable with it, of course. Our Honeymoon period still has to be set and…we could Groom.”

Baekhyun’s heart skips a beat.

Grooming.

Grooming is one of the most significant and intimate acts a mated pair could perform. Traditionally it is done in wolf form, but as time had gone on most werewolves decided to Groom as both humans and wolves to represent the unification of both sides. 

The submissive—Baekhyun, in his case—Grooms the dominant. There are very specific parameters by which the submissive may do this: because the tradition started in wolf form, it’s natural that even as a human the submissive Grooms with the tongue— the other’s face clean, wash them, their skin. Scenting off, it is. Showing adoration by cleaning their face like real Primitives would. Perhaps it sounds strange, but as canines it’s perfectly normal. The caretaker Grooms the loved one by them.

Except it’s much more intimate in human form, and Baekhyun knows this. As a human he has to sit right there next to Chanyeol and look him in the eyes, use his own hands to hold the Alpha’s face, and well… him. It’s not meant to be sensual. It never has been. It’s a sign of union, trust, and the utmost care. Grooming is a personal event. It’s beautiful.

The thought makes Baekhyun’s heart race—he can see it in Chanyeol’s eyes that the Alpha really wants to do this. Of course he does: he’s just gotten himself a mate. Baekhyun’s inner Omega pants with thrill.

“Grooming…” he whispers. “At…At your place…?”

Is this really happening? It’s hard to believe: nineteen years of preparation coming down to the last few hours, the next few hours, and the moment of claiming two days before. This entire mating business is what Omegas anticipate, and it’s what they look back on for the rest of their lives. Baekhyun has fantasized about these moments just like any Omega would since he came of age and started scenting.

And here it is: happening.

Baekhyun nods in response to the Alpha’s question, his heart already pounding in anticipation of what he now knows is to come.

Seeing the excited grin break out onto Chanyeol’s face is completely worth the confirmation.

“Awesome.”

Baekhyun doesn't have much time to respond, because the next second there's a crew member poking her head around the corner saying, "Alpha P.C.Y? They need you on stage and in place asap. Curtains open in two minutes."

He nods, and though he gently tries to untangle Baekhyun's arm from his as he begins sliding towards the door that leads back into the darkness, the Omega won't let go.

"Baekhyun - "

"I can't. I can't."

Junmyeon's hand touches his shoulder in a parental sort of way. "Baekhyun, you must let him go."

The Omega buries his face back into Chanyeol's armpit and presses himself to the Alpha, closing his eyes, and feeling slightly abashed that he's acting so dramatically. But his wolf's jaws have a firm hold on what he wants, his wolf standing his ground.

All of his defenses fall, though, when he feels a pair of arms wrap around him, squeezing him and holding him so honestly that Baekhyun feels a sense of safety wash over him, and his Omega instincts have him hugging Chanyeol back and willing every bit of his submissive comfort into the Alpha's tense muscles.

There's another even tighter squeeze, and then a kiss to his forehead, and a whisper of, "My beautiful Omega," through which Baekhyun can easily hear Chanyeol's smile, and then the Alpha whisks away with a loving of Baekhyun's hand, disappearing into the curtains. The Omega gasps and wobbles for a moment, frozen where he stands, feeling as if the wind has been knocked out of him at the sudden absence of the body that was just beside him but where there is now empty, white space.

Junmyeon doesn't stop him though when a moment later he dashes out and into the dark curtains about the stage, and his eyes instantly catch the line of idols that are streaming up another file of metal scaffolding up to the darkened stage, which now breathes with energy waiting to be exploited. 

He can't go up there, he can't just go up there and find his mate - 

And then he senses a pull to his right, where Chanyeol suddenly barrels into him and takes his head in his large hands, placing a wet kiss on Baekhyun's cheek.

"Love you," Chanyeol whispers, and turns to go up the stairs, but he doesn't make it there. He whirls around and comes back to the Omega, taking his hands this time instead. He gives them a squeeze and looks the Omega in the eyes and with the utmost earnesty says, "I'm coming back you know."

"I should hope so!" Baekhyun cried, but not without a sob of laughter, a smile brightening his face as he squeezes Chanyeol's hands back. It pains him a bit, but not enough to postpone him from saying, "Go get 'em tiger."

Chanyeol gapes. "I'm a wolf!"

A crew member rushes up to them. "Alpha P.C.Y, please, you're needed on stage in less than a minute."

Baekhyun turns away from her, glances up at Chanyeol, and then tentatively stretches up onto his tippy-toes to kiss the taller's chin. "My Alpha," he whispers with a quiver, and then he sends the man off with a gentle push as he steps back, waving his soft hand a bit.

Chanyeol grins at him and for a second he looks like he's going to go back to him again, but then he whisks up the stairs with shoulders that look even broader, even prouder, even more blissful, as if Baekhyun's kiss gave him centuries' worth of strength and pride to dazzle the audience with.

The backstage crew sets to work getting into places and starting their countdowns, and though Baekhyun finds himself entranced by the efficiency and mystique of the whole thing, he is easily pulled out of it with a tug on his elbow.

He turns to see Junmyeon waggling his hand at the Omega, beckoning him to follow, and the latter does so but with a bit of uncertainty, glancing behind him at the stairs Chanyeol just up and disappeared to. Junmyeon leads him further forward, and through the darkness between aisles of set pieces, Baekhyun's eyes graze the sparkly, dark expanse of the stage, where all the idols seem to be lining up. They walk past two familiar faces too - the MCs that greeted him and Chanyeol when they'd arrived on the red carpet. The two seem to be waiting for something, or waiting to go out on stage when their cue comes, and Junmyeon passes them by, but Baekhyun's eye unintentionally locks with the pretty Omega lady. She seems to recognize him, for her eyes light up and she smiles at him. She give him a thumbs-up and mouths, "Hwaiting!"

He blushes and smiles shyly back, but scurries after the Beta.

Junmyeon leads him all the way to the front, where the rows of wings stop, and quietly gestures for him to move forward ahead of himself, to watch the stage. The Omega tip-toes towards the gaping entrance to the stage where all the idols are amassed, organized in a neat line across the front. Baekhyun's eyes scrape over the tops of everyone's heads, searching for his Alpha, claws of desperation digging into him and leaving behind a sense of loss and hopelessness when he can't find him.

And then he does. Chanyeol's head sticks above the majority of the people, and when he steps back out of the line briefly to address a crew member, Baekhyun breaks out into a smile. For a moment the two talk lowly, before Chanyeol lets out a visible chuckle and the crew man scurries back off stage. Gosh, Chanyeol just looks so handsome, Baekhyun thinks. So elegant, so stunning.

Then, as if Chanyeol's inner magnet has finally flipped the right way, he looks to the side, directly at Baekhyun. The Omega waves at him, and the Alpha grins. The taller closes his eyes, puts his hands on his hips, and turns away, shaking his head with a beaming smile that he is trying to hide. He quickly faces back to the smaller though, their eyes meeting, and gives him a gentle smile before returning back to the line.

The stage empties of crew and a hush falls over everything including the audience, which leads Baekhyun to believe that the lights have just dimmed. His heart beats rapidly, squishing his breath and stealing any sense of maturity he has by taking him back to his childhood, which was filled with a constant sense of wonder and curiosity.

The curtains open, and though the stage is still shrouded in darkness the audience erupts in cheers. Baekhyun presses his sleeves to his nose, where remnants of the smell of apricots and sweat and pine linger, for he is unwilling to let Chanyeol's scent evade him just one more second.

And then the lights go up.