To say Joonmyeon was distracted would be an understatement. Jongin had slept all through the afternoon; blissfully unaware of the inner turmoil the older boy was experiencing because of him. He had hovered around the bed for about half an hour after Jongin had fallen asleep, only leaving when his mother told him he looked extremely creepy. He continued to flit in and out of the room nervously, in case Jongin were to wake up and need something. Right now though, he was preparing dinner with his mother – soup, something light for Jongin – and he had almost cut his finger off twice. He just couldn’t get that name out of his head, it was like an evil little fairy was sitting on his shoulder and pushing images and thoughts into his head that were not very welcome around his mum.

“Joonmyeon! Do you need to have a nap as well?” Yoon-Hee chided, waking him out of his stupor. He realised he had been standing there with his knife hovering over a clump of parsley for god knows how long.

“Ah, sorry mum.” He apologised, chopping it up quickly and pushing the board towards her. “Here you go.”

She laughed indulgently, pushing the herb into the large pot of bubbling soup. She grabbed a roll of paper towels and whacked him with them teasingly. “I’m just glad to know you actually have alpha pheromones. I was beginning to think the doctors made a mistake and you were actually a beta.”

Joonmyeon groaned. Of course he had to go all alpha when his mother was a metre away from him. Great. Nice one, Myun. “I’m sorry, I was thinking of Jongin and- wait! No, I was thinking of – um...”

The triumphant glint in her eyes caused another pained noise to pass through his lips, which she grinned at. “Speaking of Jongin,” she smirked, putting unnecessary emphasis on his name, “you should probably go get him up from dinner. It’ll be ready in a few.”

Joonmyeon nodded mutely, trudging out of the room with as much defiance as he could muster. He reached the top of the stairs and hesitated slightly, before quickly scolding himself in his mind for being an idiot. It’s not like Jongin would even remember calling him daddy; he was asleep. It was just a slip of the unconscious tongue. Even if it did make Joonmyeon’s heart race and his stomach flutter, it was probably nothing.

But still..., his mind pondered, I mean, it wouldn’t hurt to check.

He pushed the door open, stepping inside the now dark room and walking over to Jongin. He turned the bedside lamp on, watching as the soft light flooded over his golden skin, reflecting off a few of his piercings. He reached down, sweeping the unruly fringe off his forehead. The boy stirred beneath his fingers, and two warm brown eyes cracked open slowly as he tucked some of the longer strands behind his ears.

He just wanted to check, is all. Just try out a pet name. One like… baby.

Jongin smiled up at him, a small and yet glowing smile that heated up Joonmyeon from his stomach to his toes and hands.

“How are you feeling, baby?” Joonmyeon asked gently, gauging Jongin’s reaction.

The result was instantaneous. The younger boy’s face immediately started burning, and his eyes widened almost comically. Well, it would be comical if his lips hadn’t parted and let out a hot gush of air onto Joonmyeon’s fingers.

Joonmyeon may have enjoyed his reaction a bit too much. However, Jongin hadn’t answered his question. “Hm, darling?” he prompted, his knuckles moving to graze along the side of Jongin’s face.

Jongin’s mouth opened and closed a few times, seeming to be at a loss for words. After a few seconds, Joonmyeon was enveloped in a strong wave of Jongin’s omega scent; a subconscious reaction ingrained in omegas in order to attract someone to them. Joonmyeon could get high off that smell.

“Let’s sit you up, okay?” Joonmyeon asked softly, his voice coming out a lot more on the seductive side than he had intended. Oh well, he thought, as he saw Jongin swallow and his pupils dilate considerably. He sat down on the bed and wrapped his hands around Jongin’s ribs, which he was pleased to feel had gotten a lot less bony ever since Joonmyeon had been buying him food at every opportunity. He pulled the boy up until he was sitting with his back leaning against the headboard. “Would you like some water?”

Jongin nodded hastily, and Joonmyeon picked up the bottle from the bedside table, unscrewing it. Not quite trusting the sleepy boy to handle liquids, he brought the bottle up to his lips, trying not to notice the small tongue that came up to touch the rim. He tilted it slightly, letting the water pour through thick pink lips. Jongin drank it eagerly, and his face seemed to cool off slightly after the drink. Joonmyeon pulled it away after a few more seconds, placing it back on the table. Jongin was panting slightly, that distracting tongue darting out to a few drops off his upper lip.

Joonmyeon couldn’t really stop the words from slipping off his tongue. “Come on then, sweetheart, how are you feeling?”

Jongin’s breathing hitched, and he stared down at his knees as he stuttered out a, “G-good. T-Thank you.”

Joonmyeon’s heart swelled and he smiled warmly at the younger, dipping his head to meet his gaze. He slid two fingers under his chin and tilted it up delicately so he could make eye contact. “I’m more than happy to help.” Jongin smiled back at him, his eyes curving up cutely. “How about we head downstairs, okay? Dinner’s ready.”

He nodded faintly, his hands suddenly coming up to pull Joonmyeon’s fingers from his face, only to thread his own through them. He was still smiling, eyes fixed on the tangled hands shyly. Joonmyeon squeezed his hand softly. “How about I carry you down, love?”

Jongin nodded again, more eagerly this time. Joonmyeon, with his free hand, reached over to press against the small of Jongin’s back, pulling him forward until he was nestled in his lap, his thighs wrapped around Joonmyeon’s hips. Still grasping one of Jongin’s hands in his, he moved one hand to bracket his , so that when he stood up he didn’t slip down. “Ready?” Joonmyeon murmured, just in case Jongin was feeling suddenly ill. In reply, the boy tucked his face into Joonmyeon’s neck, rubbing his nose against it. Taking it as encouragement, he eased them into a standing position. Jongin’s free hand came up and rested in his hair, gently gripping onto a handful of strands, his face still buried in the crook of his neck. Joonmyeon started walking downstairs, thanking himself for leaving the bedroom door open. He manoeuvred the stairs carefully, not wanting to jolt the soft boy in his arms. When he reached the dining area, he smiled when he heard his dad’s voice from the kitchen, along with his mum’s laughter. They both came in at that moment, his mum holding the soup pot and his dad holding four bowls and spoons.

“Hey dad.” He greeted him, the man giving a warm hello in reply.

“Ah, Joonmyeon! Is Jongin awake?” Yoon-Hee asked, pulling a chair open for him to be placed into.

“Yeah, just not quite up to walking.” Joonmyeon answered, lowering the clingy boy into the chair as smoothly as he could. Even after he was safely seating, Jongin still kept a tight grip on Joonmyeon’s hair and hand, and he chuckled fondly. “I’m afraid you’ll have to let me go to eat, babe.”

Jongin seemed to only just realise what he was doing and dropped his hands quickly, a blush spreading across his face. Joonmyeon sat down in the seat next to him, looking up to find his mother smiling fondly and his father with one eyebrow raised questioningly. Joonmyeon ignored them both, choosing instead to ladle soup into everyone’s bowls.

“So.” His fathers voice was rather loud and intimidating, and Joonmyeon saw Jongin flinch in the corner of his eye. He turned to his dad, sending a small glare. Thankfully, he seemed to get the message, and his next words were significantly quieter. “Jongin, isn’t it?”

Jongin nodded mutely, biting his lip and looking intently into his soup bowl.

“And you’re an omega? You must be pretty sought after with that handsome face and status, right?”

Jongin’s mouth made a small ‘o’, and he shook his head furiously. “No- I-I, it’s not… no.”

“Jongin’s a bit shy, dad.” Joonmyeon interrupted, sending a reassuring smile to Jongin, who seemed to relax considerably.

“Oh. Nothing wrong with that, Jongin my boy.” He said firmly, picking up his spoon and tucking into his meal. Joonmyeon snorted – his dad had never been the best with emotions.

The rest of the meal went well, with Joonmyeon and his mum doing most of the talking, not that anyone seemed to mind. Jongin giggled at most of the banter, and his dad would interject occasionally with teasing gruff remarks.

At the end of the meal, Jongin slurped up the last of his soup, and Joonmyeon noticed a piece of parsley stuck to his bottom lip. Without a second thought, he reached over and swiped it away with his thumb. Jongin grabbed at his wrist in shock, before looking down and realising what had been on his mouth. He blinked at it for a second, before he brought the thumb up to his mouth, wrapping his lips around the top. He at it for a second, his tongue swiping over it before releasing the now clean finger. Joonmyeon gaped at his hand, still hovering in the air, and then at Jongin’s mouth. Well , that felt kind of spectacular. Jongin, not even realising how his actions were affecting Joonmyeon’s brain, turned back around and placed his spoon into his now empty bowl.

Joonmyeon heard a throat being cleared across the table, and looked up to see his parents watching the scene with amused expressions.

“T-Thank you so much for dinner, and e-everything else.” Jongin piped up in a small voice, interrupting the stares he hadn’t noticed were going on. “I should go though.”

“Are you sure? You’re welcome to stay.” Joonmyeon asked, more than a little hopefully.

“Yes, I’m sorry.” Jongin smiled at him apologetically, and Joonmyeon patted his shoulder.

“That’s okay. Do you want me to walk you to the bus stop?”

Jongin’s smile grew a little happier. “Yes please.”

“Wait here, I’ll grab your shoes from upstairs.” He raced upstairs as quickly as he could, picking up the sneakers that had been discarded earlier. When he jogged back downstairs, he found Jongin playing with his fingers in his lap, beaming at Joonmyeon’s parents. He walked up behind him, grinning at the scene. “You happy about something, love?” he asked, ruffling his messy curls.

“We were just telling Jongin he’s more than welcome in our home, whenever he likes.” Yoon-hee supplied, stacking the bowls into a pile. Joonmyeon handed the younger boy his shoes, happy to see him looking so delighted. Jongin slipped on the shoes, and the boys made their way over to the front door. They called out goodbyes to the adults, who eagerly returned them, before they left the house.

Once they reached the bus stop and sat down, Jongin was quick to tuck himself under Joonmyeon’s arm, resting his head on the other’s chest. They stayed like that, warm in each other’s arms until the bus at the end of the street. Joonmyeon pulled Jongin to his feet lightly, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

“Be careful, okay? Don’t go near strangers. And call me if an alpha even looks at you weird, okay?” Joonmyeon ordered him with as much authority as he could muster. Fortunately, being an alpha meant authority did not come in short supply. Jongin nodded quickly, leaning down to nuzzle his face into Joonmyeon’s neck. Joonmyeon was starting to realise that was something the younger boy really liked doing.

“It’s okay. I smell so strongly of you. Everyone knows I’m yours.” Jongin whispered, pulling away as the bus pulled into the stop, moving up to the doors. Joonmyeon watched as he boarded the vehicle, waving through the window as it drove away. Joonmyeon let out a breath he didn’t realise he was holding when he disappeared from sight, his ears ringing with everyone knows I’m yours. So Jongin was his, then? He grinned hugely, resisting the urge to jump around the bus stop. Jongin was most definitely his.

AN

oh my goodness.... you guys are all so gorgeous!!!!!

there are so many new subbies!!!!! this chapter is a bit short but i just really wanted to get something out to you wonderful people <3

thank you so much for all your support

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PS LOOK AT THE POSTER SPOTLIGHT POSTERS MADE!!!! ISNT IT PERFECT??? the link to their shop is in the foreword!!!!!! xox