Jongdae had almost forgotten about his heat until Baekhyun had mentioned that his scent had changed. He had been spending an unusually peaceful time lounging with the maknaes who for the most part could never stay still, when Baekhyun had raced into the room.

He had stopped at the entrance for a second, eyes focused intently onto Jongdae which had garnered the attention of the four of them in the room. All of a sudden Baekhyun had walked right up to Jongdae face stopping just inches from the confused Omega. Jongdae tried to move his head back only to have Baekhyun continue to move his own closer. Jongdae started back with baited breaths as Baekhyun continued to stare at him.

“Baek, what…?” Jongdae uttered, completely dumbfounded at the older Omegas actions.

Baekhyun breathed in deeply, closing his eyes in the process. All the while Sehun, Jongin and Zitao looked on at the two’s interactions, trying to piece together what the hell was going on. However they kept quiet, knowing the furrow between Baekhyun’s brows meant he was trying to concentrate on something. What that something was, they had no idea.

Baekhyun’s eyes snapped open and Jongdae flinched back a little in surprise only to have his wrist grabbed and his body pulled off the floor and across the room by a surprisingly strong Baekhyun. Jongdae had no idea that the other could be this strong but then again, appearances can be deceiving. Something which he had come to realise pretty soon in regards to his fellow pack members.

“Baekhyun, can you please tell me why you’re acting so weird.” Jongdae asked, wanting answers from the person who had practically manhandled him to his feet.

“You’re going into heat.” He said simply and Jongdae eyes widened, astonished.

He had been told multiple times that Baekhyun’s sense of smell is outstanding, but to what extent he had no idea. But for the Omega to be able to smell his heat coming up, even before he had felt any symptoms himself was just…he had no words. It was almost unbelievable.

“From how subtle the scent is I would say you have about an hour before it’s noticeable to you and everyone else but I would rather get you all sorted and away from everyone before then.” He continues and Jongdae understands perfectly.

While Omega’s weren’t really affected by the scent released from other Omega’s in heat, it was a totally different story for Alpha’s around an unclaimed Omega. Jongdae knew that it was better to get him into the ‘heat room’ sooner rather than later, a room which Luhan had explained is used as more of a spare room seeing as all of the Omega’s in their pack had already been mated, all but Jongdae. He didn’t know how he felt about that, left out maybe but mating wasn’t something to mess around with. Mating is forever, a lifelong commitment. It’s not something to take lightly.

Paying less attention than what he should have been, Jongdae finds himself running into something hard, Baekhyun still firmly gripping his wrist. Rubbing his nose at the impact, he looks up and sees Yixing standing in front of him, hands in his shoulders.

“Woah, you alright there?” Yixing asks but before Jongdae can respond Baekhyun is already dragging him away.

“Sorry Yixing, can’t stop. We’re on a tight schedule.” He says hurriedly, not caring if he sounds rude. Yixing blinks watching as their forms disappear out of his view, face blank in confusion.

It’s only seconds later when that look changes from confusion to something else when he catches the lingering scent that is familiar but unfamiliar at the same time. His nostrils flair as he takes it in, eyes dilating as a shaky breath escapes his lips.

God, he doesn’t think that he’s ever smelt anything as delectable as what had just tickled his nose. His head feels like it’s beginning to float away like a cloud in the sky but he stops himself, knowing that if he had let it get any further he would regret the actions that would inevitably follow. He heads outside, previous errands completely forgotten as he increases the distance from himself and the source of the scent. He needs to clear his head, the scent was only going to more potent in the coming hours, so much so that he wasn’t going to be the only one affected by it.

It’s going to be a long couple of days.

~X~

Two days of nearly unbearable heat, which left his body sore and exhausted later, Jongdae’s heat had officially ended. Everyone had breathed a huge sigh of relief but none as much as Jongdae himself. Over the years he had learned to hate the natural phenomenon with a fiery passion, however this was the first time he had felt safe.

Junmyeon, ever the worried mother, made sure that he was well fed and hydrated both during and after his heat. Jongdae was sure that he had drank twice his body weight in water and powerade. He was surprised that he wasn’t bursting at the seams. Luhan however, seemed to be enjoying himself as he looked at Jongdae with an amused smile.

“Are you feeling okay? Do you need me to get you anything?” Junmyeon fretted, hovering around Jongdae like a bee would to a flower.

“Junma, he’s fine. If he needs anything I’m sure he’ll let you know.” Luhan takes sympathy on Jongdae, who sends the elder Omega a thankful smile.

Yixing looks on at the exchange between the Omega’s fondly. He’s happy that everyone has welcomed Jongdae so warmly into the family and at how Jongdae, despite his early hesitance has seamlessly fitted into the mould as if he had always been there. It’s nice to see someone who had been so cautious be so relaxed in the presence of others.

“Oh hey Xing.” Luhan calls out. “What are you doing loitering around, something caught you’re eye?” he says with a eating grin, earning a glare from the person in question. Luhan isn’t fazed, if anything it only makes him smile even wider and Yixing has the urge to slap the look right off his face. Luhan seems to be the only person that manages to bring out the homicidal tendencies lurking deep within him and he knows that Luhan takes great pleasure in being able to do so. The little revels in it and Yixing swears on his life that he is the devil in disguise.

“No, I just didn’t want to disturb your conversation.” He says lamely.

“It’s fine, there was nothing for you to disturb.” Jongdae smiles completely oblivious to the exchange that had occurred. Yixing finds himself smiling back, his lips quirking up subconsciously and this time Luhan’s not the only one to see it, Junmyeon does to and his own smile forms on his face.

‘Looks like he’s finally moved on’ he thinks.

“Junmyeon!” comes a sudden call from a distance and Junmyeon sighs, recognising the voice as Sehun’s.

“Well, that’s my cue to leave.” He says as he gets up. “Looks like the kids have gotten into another childish argument.” He rolls his eyes.

“I’ll tag along. Sehunnie is my responsibility after all.” Luhan says, following Junmyeon out and leaving Yixing and Jongdae together in the kitchen.

“I swear those three are seven years olds, not young men.” Yixing complains and Jongdae chuckles.

“I think it’s nice. I hope they can stay like that for as long as possible.”

Yixing watches as his smile dims, turning from bright to rueful as he looks down at his hands in his lap where he plays with his fingers.

“Let them be young. I wish…” he trails off.

I wish I had a chance to be like that.

Jongdae doesn’t even realise he’s crying until he feels wetness on his hand and an arms wrapping around his shoulders. He’s gently pulled against Yixing’s hard chest where he buries his face into it, bunching the material of the Alpha’s shirt with his hand as silent tears fall down cheeks. Yixing rocks the Omega back and forth, heart breaking at his cries. He curses at the cruelty of the world. Yixing continues to hold Jongdae, even after the tears had stopped falling.

“I’m-I’m sorry about that.” Jongdae sniffles, wiping his eyes with his hand.

“Don’t apologise. It’s only natural to want something you’ve never had.” He says, kind eyes boring right into his own and Jongdae has the urge to cry again but he manages to hold them back.

“Thankyou.”

“There’s no need t – “

“There’s no need to say thankyou I know, but I want to.” He cuts off. “So thankyou Yixing.”

Yixing looks at the Omega who eyes are shining with gratitude. “You’re welcome.” He replies.

His eyes are still red and puffy from crying but he smiles anyway. “I’m going to go and clean up.” He says, hesitating before giving Yixing a short but firm hug.

“Wait, Jongdae!” He calls before the Omega leave the kitchen. Jongdae stops, angling his body so that it’s facing Yixing. “If you need a shoulder to cry on, or just someone to talk to, feel free to come to me. I’ll always be there to listen.”

“I will.”

Yixing nods.

If anyone notices Yixing’s good mood for the rest of the day nobody mentions it.

~X~

Jongdae is confused.

Today Minseok is in a terribly good mood. Like, it’s not like he never is. No, Minseok is usually happy but today he seems to be unusually peppy and Jongdae has no idea why. He knows there’s a reason for it but as of yet he has failed to find out the reason. Junmyeon is the first one he runs into.

“Um, why is Minseok so…”

“Happy?”

“Yeah.”

A look of realisation comes onto Junmyeon’s face. “Ah, you wouldn’t know about it. We do an annual monthly clean up. We clean everything really. Sheets, the floor, the garden, anything that needs to be. Minseok’s a little bit of a clean freak so those are the days that he can let loose and satisfy his clean nature. It also helps that he enjoys going all military leader, knowing that everyone will do as he says. Cleaning’s his specialty.”

“He gets off on cleaning products.” Luhan whispers as he passes them, which earns his a well-placed hit from both Junmyeon and Kyungsoo. Luhan whines and Jongdae giggles at the elders misfortune as it was one hundred percent deserved, especially when it had come from Kyungsoo and the mate of the man in question.

“Why do you hurt me so~” he complains but he’s completely ignored. There’s only so much ‘Luhan’ one can handle on a daily basis and they had already surpassed the recommended dosage.

“Just go and find Minseok, he’ll tell you want he wants you to do.” Junmyeon says to Jongdae who nods, the sound of Luhan’s whines fading the further he gets. It doesn’t take him long to track down the elder who is staring at the floor as if it had wronged him.

“Um, Minseok.” He says with caution, the elder taking his eyes away from the floor at the sound of Jongdae’s voice. “Junmyeon told me to come to you and ask you what I need to do.”

Minseok blinks at him as if he’s trying to process what had just been said and Jongdae wonders if he had even heard him in the first place before a lightbulb seemed to have gone off in his head and he smiles. “You can help Yixing with the bedsheets. You don’t mind doing that do you?”

“No, it’s fine. Where is Yixing by the way?”

“He was in the laundry the last time I saw him.” He points to the place in question, Jongdae muttering a quick ‘thankyou’ before heading off towards that direction. When he gets there he sees Yixing already putting sheets into the washing machine. Jongdae watches him in curiousity. He’s never used a washing machine before, only having seen one for the first time a couple of weeks ago when he had been shown around the house.

‘There’s still so much I don’t know. So much that I need to learn’ he thinks and the feeling that comes along with it is daunting. He didn’t grow up like the others, didn’t have a childhood that couldn’t be considered normal by any circumstance and sometimes he didn’t know how he felt about that.

“Oh Jongdae, how long have you been standing there for?” Yixing says, eyes now turned away from the washing machine, dimples out in full force.

“Oh uh, n-not long.” He doesn’t even know why he stuttered, nor why he could feel his face heating up. He hoped that Yixing hadn’t noticed. “Uh, Minseok told me to come and help you with the sheets.”

Yixing smiles. He had noticed the Omega’s slip up but he wasn’t mean, so he decided to pretend that he hadn’t. “Well, there’s not a lot to do. I’ve already done most of it but you can help me with the rest. Come on.” He leads Jongdae out of the laundry, hand unconsciously coming to rest on the small of his back. Jongdae is hyper aware of the contact, as if all of his nerves had been commanded to run on overdrive.

However he completely forgets about it when he realises that they are headed to Yixing’s bedroom. Standing inside Jongdae just stares, a mixture of both astonishment and disbelief marring his face.

“What?” Yixing questions when he sees the look.

“I thought Baekhyun was just trying to be funny.” He says simply.

On the bed, neatly placed, has to be at least thirty toy sheep and bunnies. Yixing, while slightly embarrassed, is amused by the Omega’s reaction. With his eyes wide open and mouth in an ‘o’ shape. Walking over to the bed he picks up a pastel yellow bunny, its long ears flopping about with every movement.

“They’re cute.” Jongdae comments, moving his fingers across the toys fur, enjoying how soft it feels on his skin. “Why do you have so many?” Taking a seat on the bed he continues to play with the bunny, all the while waiting for Yixing’s answer.

“I don’t know.” He answers, moving to take a seat next to Jongdae. “Maybe I just didn’t want to feel lonely.” He confesses, causing Jongdae to look at him, an understanding tilt to his lips.

“I can understand that.” He says softly. “Not wanting to be alone.” He glances at the Alpha, surprised but happy at the others confession. Yixing himself is also surprised by it but it somehow felt good to let it out, to confide in someone knowing he won’t be judged.

Flicking his eyes down, Jongdae looks at his hands which hold the bunny, then at Yixing’s hands which rest on his knee, he ponders.

Yixing jerks when his hand in encased in warmth which hadn’t been there before, warmth which while unexpected is not unwelcome. He looks down to see a smaller one covering his own and his heart flutters, almost skipping a beat. He surprised by the Omega’s actions, he’s usually not the one who initiates physical contact. Jongdae is surprised by himself but he finds himself at ease when around the Alpha.

Feeling like he might as well go further, Jongdae leans his head onto Yixing’s shoulder lightly at first but letting it rest when he makes himself comfortable, closing his eyes in contentment. Yixing’s body stiffens, not knowing what to do but it soon relaxes. He buries his nose into Jongdae’s hair, taking in the Omega’s unique scent that had gotten more and more appealing to him in the past week. The younger turns his head until it’s pressing into the crook of the Alpha’s neck, where calmed by the subtle dominance, he is lulled to sleep.

Careful not to disturb the sleeping Omega Yixing manoeuvres him into a more comfortable position, lighly pressing his lips to his forehead and smoothing his hair back.

When Jongdae wakes he is greeted by the ceiling if his own room. Disappointment begins to settle in his heart before his eyes fall on something small lying beside him. Something small, yellow and fluffy. Picking it up he stares at it with confusion, which soon turns into realisation and then elation, a wonderful smile stretching across his entire face.

A human would question the significance of the gift, wondering why it had cause such a reaction but a wolf could see it for what it was, how much weight the simple gesture actually meant and while Jongdae hadn’t been raised traditionally, even he knew the implications behind it. Something which made his heart soar.

Yixing was courting him. Officially.

He almost wanted to squeal, instead settling on bringing the bunny to his chest and squeezing it hard. He felt giddy. Never had he thought that something like this would happen to him but here it is, plain and clear.

Deciding to take mercy on the poor creature he sets it in his lap. He narrows his eyes, titling his head to the side in contemplation.

“Lay.” He says finally. “I’ll call you Lay.” Nodding his head in pride now that the bunny had a name.

Setting the bunny – Lay – comfortably on the bed, Jongdae pads his way out of his room on a mission to find the gifter of the toy. He finds him sitting on the couch engrossed in the book in his hands, smiling at the concentrated pout on the Alpha’s lips.

Jongdae walks up behind Yixing, making sure to be as silent as possible to not clue the other in on his presence. Crouching down slightly, he leans over the couch, using one of his hands to turn Yixing’s head towards him and pecks him quickly right on the lips. Yixing’s drops his book in surprise and opens his mouth to say something but it cut off by a squeal or excitement coming from the entry to the lounge room.

Looking over they see Zitao jumping around like a squirrel on steroids, still squealing with a big smile on his face.

“Oh my god! I can’t believe – finally!” he yells, voice rising in octaves to the point that Yixing can feel his ear drums threatening to burst. “I have to tell Baekhyun and Luhan, they owe me a hundred dollars.”

Jongdae giggles despite the embarrassed flush taking victim to his face, ears and neck. Yixing looks at Jongdae as if he still can’t believe what had just happened, lips still tingling from the brief contact.

“Yes.” Jongdae says, eyes shining with so many emotions that Yixing can’t distinguish one from another. Their moment is broken by two yells of outrage, this time making them both laugh.

“GOD DAMMIT!”

~X~

A couple of days later Jongdae finds himself spending some rare time alone, sitting on the porch looking up at the night sky. The stars have always astonished him, ever since he was a child. His mother would tell him stories how brave warriors had fought and died in honour, only to be eternalised in the sky, becoming a star that one can gaze upon and appreciate the beauty that that had once gained through tough times and sacrifices. It’s something he hadn’t thought about in a long time when things had seemed so simple, so easy. He wonders if one day when he finally passed, would he become one of the stars that he so admires.

Too caught up in his thoughts he doesn’t even notice someone take a seat next to him until a warm cup of hot chocolate is pressed into his hands.

“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” Junmyeon says, smiling that smile that Jongdae has gotten used to seeing. The smile a mother would give its child, so full of love.

“It is.” Jongdae agrees, taking a sip of the warm drink.

“Thankyou.” Jumnyeon says after a brief silence.

“For what?” Jongdae looks at the older Omega in confusion, not knowing why he’s suddenly thanking him.

“Yixing, for making him happy.” Junmyeon smiles, looking at Jongdae before turning his eyes back towards the stars. “He hasn’t been happy, not for a long time. He’s been content but not happy. He used to have feelings for me, back when Minseok still had yet to mate me.” Jongdae startles at the new information. “I care for Yixing, I love him, just not in the same way which he had loved me. When me and Minseok mated he was happy for us but I knew it had hurt him.” Junmyeon’s smile now holds pain and Jongdae doesn’t like seeing it there, it doesn’t belong.

“Then one after another more couples started popping up and Yixing was left alone. We had what he didn’t and it was hard for him, though he would never admit it. That’s when he started collecting those stuffed toys. The younger ones thought that he was just buying them because they were cute but…” the reason didn’t need to be said, Jongdae understood it loud and clear.

“I think he was beginning to lose hope that he would ever have what the rest of us did, that was until he found you.” Junmyeon pokes Jongdae in the chest. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed it but he’s been so much happier since you came along. He’s finally moved on. He has someone who can love him just as much as he loves them and for that, I thank you.” He finished, eyes showing so much gratitude and sincerity that it makes him want to burst into ugly tears.

Jongdae wants to say something, anything, but nothing will come out. He can’t seem to find the words to respond to Junmyeon’s confession.

“You have no idea how much you mean to us, to him. Just be yourself, always. We love you.” Pressing a kiss to Jongdae’s forehead Junmyeon gets up leaving him once again alone on the porch, at least that’s what he had thought.

Another body presses against his side, an arm slinging around his shoulder and brings him towards the new body. Jongdae takes in the person’s scent, relaxing when the familiar musk enveloped his senses.

“That looked serious.” He comments, absentmindedly rubbing circles on Jongdae’s shoulder. “Anything I need to worry about?”

“No.” Jongdae says, smiling at Yixing reassuringly. “Everything’s fine… just fine.” He mumbles into the Yixing’s neck, warm breath hitting the Alpha’s skin.

They gaze out at the stars together, not a word passing between them. It wasn’t needed. Not in this moment.

‘This is something I could get used to.’

Guys, I'm sorry it took so long. I had a lot of stuff come up but here it is. I though it would take me a couple more days to get it finished but it looks like you're in luck. This is probably a bit of a mess but it's all I could really think about writing. Did Yixing's feelings for Junmyeon surprise you? To be honest I have teased that their had been something between them but I don't think any of you caught it. They weren't massive hints but they were there. There will probably only be one more chapter. I've sort of run out of ideas and I don't want it to get to long.

I'll give you a low down as to why this took so long to get out.
-1) My internet has been complete and utter in the last couple of weeks
-2) I had to get my stuff for Uni ready
-3) More family drama that I really don't want to get into
-4) Work problems
-5) One of my stories had been plagiarised on Wattpad. It took me a while to sort it out and left me feeling pretty crap. It has since been taken down and the person in questions account terminated

I have some good news for you though. I've decided to do a BTS/EXO drabble series and I'll be accepting prompts. You can fine it here