Taekwoon leaned against the foot of Wonshik’s desk as he sat up and drank his second bottle of water. His throat felt raw from all the screaming and he had started to feel dizzy from the lack of water, so he slowly drank until he felt better.

With his mind clearing hup from the haze of his heat, he could notice just how intense it was this time compared to the ones he had so far. He thought that it’s probably because he had a partner assisting him through it, an Alpha one as well, and he was attracted to him both physically and mentally to top it off.

Slowly, he ran his fingers along his nape. He could feel Wonshik’s intention to bite him there, to claim Taekwoon as his mate. And Taekwoon could remember just how bad he wanted it, how the voices at the back of his mind screamed at him to submit, to bare his nape, to finally be marked, claimed, and surrendered himself to be Wonshik’s mate.

Taekwoon didn’t know whether he should feel disappointed or relieved that Wonshik decided against it.

As Taekwoon opened the third bottle, Wonshik entered the studio room, freshly showered and already wearing a clean pair of boxers. “It’s lunchtime already. I’m currently heating up some food in the microwave. Do you want to shower?” he asked. Taekwoon nodded, although he still uncapped the water bottle first and downed half of it in one go.

“Help me out? I can barely move my legs,” asked Taekwoon. Wonshik nodded and crouched down, letting Taekwoon to circle his arms around his neck before lifting him up to his arms.

“Why didn’t you mark me?” asked Taekwoon as they ate their lunch. Wonshik had bandaged the bite mark on his hand, but Taekwoon saw it clearly in the shower earlier.

“Because I don’t have your consent yet,” replied Wonshik straightforwardly, not even sounding like he made up that reason. It was because he didn’t exactly make it up. He genuinely didn’t want to do it because he wanted to make sure that it was what Taekwoon wanted too first.

“You know that a bonding mark won’t be created unless I want to be marked as well, don’t you?” asked Taekwoon again. Wonshik sighed and nodded.

“But I also know that your judgement can be clouded because you are being too deep in your heat,” replied Wonshik firmly.

Taekwoon couldn’t really argue with that.

“Then, if we have again outside my heat and you feel the urge to mark me, promise me that you won’t hold back,” said Taekwoon as he held out his pinky. Wonshik sighed in resignation, smiling gently as he held out his own pinky as well.

“I promise,” said Wonshik.

By the end of the week, Wonshik had at least 5 bite marks on his left arm, and they had pretty much ed everywhere in that small apartment. When Hongbin made a quick visit at the end of the week, he commented how the apartment had smelled more like a couple’s rather than Wonshik’s alone in such short time. Both Wonshik and Taekwoon blushed hard, and it gave Hongbin a good laugh.

“Hey, after Taekwoon-hyung’s heat period is over, let’s go for some chicken and beer. Just you and me. There are some things I want to talk about,” said Hongbin as Wonshik saw him away.

“Ah, do you need a song for your student’s debut?” asked Wonshik, since usually Hongbin asked him to talk in private to discuss about work.

“Not really, just a little heart-to-heart talk between friends,” replied Hongbin with a shrug. Wonshik frowned, thinking that it’s rare for Hongbin to do so, but he nodded anyway.

“Okay, I’ll tell you when I have some free time,” said Wonshik. Hongbin smiled widely and took his leave.

Jaehwan pretty much forced Taekwoon to have a sleepover when he got back to his own apartment. Although Taekwoon had told the Beta about how his week went in general, he wanted to know more, and attacked Taekwoon with his cute puppy eyes until he gave up. So there he was, cuddling up a big bear pillow with Jaehwan and Seokjin on his sides, eager for some juicy details of his week with Wonshik.

“So, how did it go?” asked Jaehwan with a grin on his face.

“I’m not telling you the details of my life,” deadpanned Taekwoon with a roll of his eyes.

“Ew, Hyung, no, we’re not asking about that details. Just curious about whether he treated you right or not,” retorted Seokjin. Taekwoon buried his face to the pillow with a sigh. Even just remembering about Wonshik’s touch made him shivered all over again.

“One thing for sure, I know that I will never, ever, be able to get over my heat alone again. It just feels so good with him. He makes me feel so very good,” said Taekwoon. Jaehwan nodded raptly at that.

“Also… He held back every time he was about to mark me. He bit his hand instead. He said he wanted to mark me only when he has my consent,” added Taekwoon. At that, both Betas frowned.