Baekhyun wakes early the next morning, at a time when the aura of the sun paints the sky violet before showing itself. It's a tangle of limbs and a weightlifting game trying to move out from underneath Chanyeol's massive wolf form, but he's relieved he wakes up first because when he comes to consciousness he feels thick padded fur against skin and his thighs pressed together in the warmth of the bed and the forms on it. When he falls asleep as a wolf it isn't uncommon for him to wake up human, and occasionally vice versa.

His eyes slide open and blur the soft grey maroon of the early morning, taking in a space and bed that is unfamiliar and momentarily jarring.

But then someone breathes on him.

Wound up next to Chanyeol's wolf form, Baekhyun feels like a toy doll he's so small. He relaxes his head onto Chanyeol's paw and cuddles into the hot shelter of the curve of the wolf's torso, but moving at all is a challenge when the Alpha's head is draped over the smaller's waist and midsection. It's as heavy as a massive boulder, but soft and warm like a blanket. His head definitely didn't feel this heavy last night.

Baekhyun closes his eyes again and enjoys the simplicity of the moment, the warmth cocooning both his body and his heart. Never before has he felt so satisfied, so right.

He gets a slight adrenaline rush when he realizes he's stark , because this is the kind of classic scene that makes it into historical dramas. He bites the insides of his cheeks to stop his smile from being visibly loud in case it might wake up the Alpha, and peeks over the curve of his bicep at the sleeping wolf's face.

The wolf's nose scrunches a little, and then the expression flattens out again.

After spending the seconds whiling away with a smile on his face, he reaches down to his navel and stomach, pressing a hand there, and lets out a relieved sigh when his body doesn't react to the touch. His Heat is staved for now, and with the comfort he receives with this thought he settles back down in silent repose.

There's something special about the beauty of a male Omega's body. The majority of Omegas are female, and so the tenderness and softness of the male Omega's form becomes a sort of exotic home away from home where someone curious can experience what it is truly like to hold a man in their arms. He is a reverie, a safe haven for hugs and kisses and cuddles for those who need a rest. For it is so easy and so tempting to a bare thigh, hold a malleable waist, and press oneself against soft skin. The fact that he is a man makes every embrace feel more like a trust fall than a hug, a fall of love into which only his body is the landing place, a place of solace. He is a male that does not shy away from affection or from emotion. An Omega that allows himself to be maternal and tender, and his body reflects that: soft curves, almost-straight lines with enough bend in them that he is easy to hold and caress. Features gentle like flowers in an impressionist painting, skin like satin silky to the touch and with a glossy finish. A slight hand and a warm heart.

There's something special about the beauty of a male Omega's body, and loved in serene slumber, his body entrusted to the one who occupies and cradles him. To the one who lays him down into a sweet recline and who is now tasked with the duty of ever respecting this body and this man.

These are just some reasons why Baekhyun loves to be an Omega.

~

Some time later it's with great reluctance that Baekhyun attempts to slide out from under the Alpha, but his initial plan of "get up quietly without disturbing Chanyeol" falls to pieces when he shifts and realizes that if he let the Alpha's head fall off of him, it would definitely be like dropping a boulder and he'd wake up for sure. But the Omega is halfway there, caught in an extremely uncomfortable bind with the wolf's jaw pressing painfully onto his pelvic bone, and his fingers and elbows falling asleep beneath him as he tries to hold up his weight. He glances around, searching for solutions. Does he try to prop up the Alpha's head with a bunch of pillows and hope for the best?

He's still deciding, trembling while trying to uphold his posture when there's a deep sigh behind him and hot breath fanning over his thighs, and he whips his head around. Chanyeol is shifting with a canine groan, his eyes squinted closed and ears flicking. Baekhyun glances down at his own unclothed state and then flicks his gaze back up as the wolf looks as if he's stumbling between sleep and consciousness.

"Don't open your eyes," Baekhyun whispers urgently. "Don't open your eyes Chanyeol."

His hope that the Alpha will take his voice as a faraway dream seems to work. The wolf lets out another incomprehensible groan of fatigue, but for a second his head is temporarily lifted and Baekhyun squeezes out from the embrace the Alpha had around him. As soon as he's off the bed he leans back over and sticks a pillow in the space his body previously occupied as Chanyeol begins slipping back into the sleep realm. The Omega reaches his head up and puts a kiss on the firm, bony brow above the wolf's eye and whispers soothingly,

"Shh, go back to sleep. Go back to sleep, Chanyeol. I'm here, I'll be waiting for you when you wake." The wolf's face twitches and Baekhyun runs a hand down Chanyeol's long spine. "Shhh. Relax, my Alpha. Sleep."

After another moment donning a tight, unrestful expression Baekhyun puts his fingers on the top of the wolf's head and begins to massage deep circles in his crown with blunt fingernails, watching the wolf's face with determination.

Chanyeol's body relaxes down and a long, pleased groan rumbles up from his throat. Even after he's fallen back asleep Baekhyun continues to rub his head. A dream must come to the Alpha because after a second he lets out a happy string of whimpers and his massive tail thumps against the blankets like a drum. It stutters midair, and then settles back down again lazily. Baekhyun smiles and retracts from the bed with a hushed, "Sweet dreams..."

~

After shuffling into his pajamas Baekhyun moves to tip-toe out of the bedroom with a long look cast behind him at Chanyeol's wolf, which has sprawled out across the entire mattress. He lightens his step and glides out into the open living room, his bare feet padding along the cold floor. The room is still fairly dark and shaded in a grey-tone light that's soft on the eyes. In this new light and new day Baekhyun takes another look at the whole house, his lips parting slightly in interest, orbs flickering all over an maximizing all the smaller details. The windows on the open wall are large, but shielded by the outer wall beyond the garden so no one may look in. The couch is more like a bed, with massive pillow-like cushions of wild patterns. The Omega strolls over to it and runs his fingers over the fabric, then gingerly sits himself down. Much to his surprise he sinks down into the squishy couch and tumbles onto the pillows on his back with a gasp. Baekhyun freezes and listens for a moment to make sure Chanyeol doesn't wake.

From across the room in the bedroom he hears faint dog snoring.

He carefully relaxes and lets his eyes wander up to the high ceiling and the second floor loft. It's then that he notices the vine-like plants that crawl and drape over the side of the upper-floor rails, sprouting from unseen pots. They don't look very healthy, as if they've been overtaken by loneliness and hunger, left to slump and scatter with a little lilting will. But they give the room an angelic, magical fairy-land feel, and Baekhyun decides he likes them.

Beside the drapery of foliage there is a short array of mounted deer antlers - two of them, both of impressive size. It's these that also catch Baekhyun's attention and he eyes them as he carefully rises from the sofa. The Omega gazes up at them from where they're perched on the wall but sees no plaques or the like. The only conclusion he can make is that maybe these are the bounties of successful hunts Chanyeol has had, albeit few in number.

He moves on then to the massive bookshelf wall (after peeking in on Chanyeol again). The shelves rise to the ceiling and there's a rolling, scrolling ladder to accommodate the tall heights. Its existence in the house is so out of place that it does somehow fit with the rest of the home and the encyclopedic style it embraces.

Baekhyun runs a finger along one of the ladder rungs and he pulls it back covered with a thick layer of dust.

The Omega walks slowly along the wall, eyeing the books and tinkers and toys. The books aren't of much sustenance: there's one on the history of financial crises in Korea, one on World War II, one on the communist werewolf anti-tradition reform, a cookbook. These kinds of books go on forever, but there are some other ones too: a few battered kids' books, the Harry Potter series minus one that is missing, and other indie-like novels and such. He picks up one - An Examination of the Conceptual Existence of Vampires - pages through it, and then puts it back.

There are framed photographs stilted on the shelves as well and these draw the Omega's eyes, and he quickly takes to examining each one.

The first he comes across looks like a family reunion of sorts. There are thirty, maybe forty people crammed into a small room together with confetti littering the floor and drinks in hands. It must be Chanyeol's family, because they all have the same slim, long bodies and bright, smiling eyes. In the back row stands an ominous line of tall men - they're ominous despite the gaping smiles on their faces and cheers frozen on their lips - who must be the Alphas and Betas of the family. There are many of them, all proud and happy-looking. Mixed in front of them are the women, and to Baekhyun's surprise, many of them seem rather dominant. Unforgiving statuesque postures, hard, mischievous eyes that don't stray too far from being similar to Chanyeol's...there must be many dominants in the family.

In the front row, sitting on chairs, holding onto the hands of their mates, or posing on the floor are the Omega relatives. Baekhyun can't help but awe at the bright faces smiling at the camera, and think that his face must look dull in comparison to theirs'. There's a subtle beauty that everyone in the photo shares, a gene that must continue to be passed down without fault. Baekhyun gazes at the photo with immediate reverence to all of these unfamiliar faces, all these wolves that are part of Chanyeol's family, the family he will hopefully be a part of.

And then there's Chanyeol. Baekhyun smiles, since the Alpha is characteristically hard to ignore.

He sits right in front, right in the middle of the Omegas on the floor, smiling the brightest, long arms lassoed around his thin knees. There are silver streamers in his hair, and his legs look spindly and long next to the short sticks of the submissives around him. He just glows.

There's a date written in the corner and Baekhyun reads: 2013. This was two years ago.

The one frame sets him up for a long line of ones similar to it. Based on the dates, it seems that every two years a new photo of the Park Family Reunion is added to the collection. In every single one Chanyeol sticks out the most with his dashing features and strategic placement in the photographs: in the middle almost always, and always with the Omegas.

When Baekhyun starts getting into the older photographs he can't help but coo as the Alpha's face slowly gains more and more baby pudge and his features become less defined, but more suggested. He doesn't look as preened as he does now once Baekhyun goes down the line and sees a very punk-rock looking, long-haired Chanyeol, then a very awkward-looking Chanyeol in a flabby T-shirt and ruffled jeans, and then a Chanyeol that progressively gets smaller and smaller until Baekhyun reaches a new kind of photo.

The setup is the same: dominants in the back, Omegas seated in front. Except in the very middle is a seated woman, with a tall and proud back and assumes the attention over the pool of Omegas around her. She's a small woman but she seems to exude a kind of prominence. She's probably an Alpha, or a Beta at least. There's something familiar about her face, about the roundness of her cheeks and shape of her lips. Her eyes aren't Chanyeol's, but the smile is. This must be Chanyeol's mother.

There's a small white bundle in her arms that Baekhyun assumes is Chanyeol.

He gets it now. It seems that every year after this first photo, the Alpha retook the same place right in the front as his mother had when he was still an infant, except over time he grew from being smaller than the Omegas to being twice their size.

Baekhyun looks at the photos fondly, wondering what the family gatherings must be like. He's never experienced anything that looks like this.

The follow-up pictures are less humble. There's Chanyeol in a fancy suit surrounded by other fancy-looking idols, and then one with him posing with a famous athlete or something. A photograph of wolves - probably the Alpha and his friends - and other old pictures with people Baekhyun doesn't recognize. Friends, family. There are signed albums and pictures and memorabilia from other famous people, and then there's a shelf of Chanyeol's own CD releases. There are beautiful, intricate portrait drawings and paintings of him, signed with little hearts and messages that let Baekhyun know that it's probably fanart. Amazing fanart. There are plaques and trophies, certificates and ribbons. Several shelves are dedicated solely to anime character figurines, which puts a smile on the Omega's face, and next to those are shelves that are cluttered with just about anything and everything, little tokens of the past with stories that Baekhyun does not know, is not a part of, but enjoys looking at anyway.

At the very end of the row is a little box stashed away, tucked against the wall in a condensed and repressed manner. Baekhyun inches over to it and slips it out of its place on the shelf. His curiosity is immediately piqued for a small key is hooked inside the lock without concern for being opened, perhaps with a renouncing attitude. He turns it carefully and hears the soft click and pop of the lid opening freely. He lifts it and gazes inside.

Letters. Stacks of them, some opened, some still enclosed in their envelopes. Baekhyun squints in the darkness and his heightened eyes adjust quickly to the thin shadows that shroud the sloppy, childish scrawl on the top few packets of paper. His eyes widen in wonder.

To 18-year-old me.

To 20-year-old me.

To me the day I make my first kill.

Baekhyun shifts the box into the crook of one of his arms to shuffle through it and finds layers of letters like these:

To 14-year-old me.

To 18-year-old-me pt. 2

To me the day I get signed by a company.

To 50-year-old me.

They go on and on and Baekhyun flips through them curiously, though his fingers stutter when he reaches one in the middle of the stack.

To me the day I claim my mate.

The Omega wets his lips nervously and runs his fingerpad over the edge of the envelope. It's unopened.

Chanyeol wrote these to himself? Based on the varying neatness of penmanship they must have been written at different times and with different intentions. Baekhyun stares down at the letter, this letter that has to do with him, the part of him that Chanyeol sees. What would younger Chanyeol have to say to himself now? What would younger Chanyeol say if he knew that Baekhyun would be the mate that he's writing about? Why is he writing to himself in the future?

He's tempted to open it himself, or go through the ones that already have been, but the thought grates against his moral compass. He shouldn't, and he won't. It feels too private, too intimate. A box stashed away in a corner as if given up on, but with notes inside that equal the sums of treasure.

Baekhyun closes the box and returns it to its place as a cold draft swirls through the room and sends goosebumps down his arms. The Omega's eyes draw out to the windows where a vague haze of orange has furnished the very edge of the sky, still barely reaching past the tops of the city buildings. When his ears pick up a slight stirring from the other room and the shifting of blankets he spins on his heel and makes for the kitchen to do what he initially got up to do.

It takes some scavenging and creative innovation, but within a few minutes Baekhyun has a warm pot of fresh tea (He notes there is no fruit, cereal, or milk in the fridge). When he makes his way back into the bedroom with the tray of tea in hand he's graced with the sight of Chanyeol's human body, stretched out sloth-like on the bed. The Alpha is lying on his stomach - which Baekhyun is grateful for, because he now allows himself to take in the statuesque figure in front of him: elongated, toned muscles, strong shoulder blades, lanky but muscular legs that flow into the curve of his buttocks. Every dip and arc, line and tone and shade is aching with harmonious resolve and splendor. A rectangular shaft of neon orange light casts over the sleeping man, rippling firey marigold across the elegant masses of Chanyeol's body.

Baekhyun moves soundlessly through the room to the small seating area where Chanyeol's clothes are draped over the chairs, and sets the tea down as he sits himself. He takes a few minutes to pull out his phone and send an email to his manager about getting the week off, and then settles back into the chair.

"You're up early," a deep voice rumbles, and Baekhyun's eyes flash to the bed. The Alpha hasn't moved, and for a second Baekhyun wonders if he just imagined him speaking, but then Chanyeol shifts his head and watches Baekhyun from over his arm. The effect of his stare is immediate: Baekhyun's heart leaps into his throat and he suddenly can't breathe, can't move, can't speak, can't even look away. The light coming in from the window reflects off of Chanyeol's irises and turns them a valiant amber, his lazy, half-lidded and sleep-riddled orbs forever full of expression. 

Without knowing what else to say Baekhyun says, "Hi."

Chanyeol chuckles, his voice low and gravelly, husky and warm with the contrails of fatigue, and shifts again. "Hello." With a scrutinizing gaze he adds, "What are you doing over there?"

"Well..."

It's at that point that the Alpha recognizes his unclothed state. Baekhyun busies himself with fiddling with putting his phone away as Chanyeol slips on his boxers and then jumps back onto the bed, Baekhyun following closely behind with a steaming cup of tea in his hands. He offers it to his mate who accepts it with brows curiously raised, and then climbs up next to him.

"What's this?" Chanyeol asks as he sniffs the drink. He smiles. "A nice morning surprise?"

"Some tea."

The Alpha glances sidelong at him. "You made me tea?" Baekhyun nods. "Gee, you treat me like royalty," Chanyeol hums as he takes a sip. The Omega tries not to notice the taller's beautiful expanse of skin and the puzzle of handsome muscles across his chest and abdomen. Then Chanyeol's eyes widen and he holds the cup out suddenly to the smaller.

"What magic is this?" he demands playfully. "What did you put in this?"

"I...I don't know..."

"It's delicious!" Chanyeol exclaims. "I've never had tea this good."

"You're probably just imagining it," Baekhyun replies, but drops his head to hide his smile. "Just because I made it. Like a placebo."

"I'm not. This is fantastic." He takes a long swig and releases it with a wet exhale and then leans back against the headboard and pillows behind him, settling with a neat grunt. His eyes draw to Baekhyun again and he reaches one of his large palms out to the Omega's hair.

"I used traditional tea-making methods," Baekhyun adds as he leans into the touch. "With a makeshift tea set of your cups and glasses."

The Omega feels Chanyeol's hands guiding his head forward and he has no option but to rest his body against Chanyeol's chest as the Alpha kisses his crown lest he topple over. "Well whatever you did, it's amazing. Just like you."

"You're so cheesy," Baekhyun says with a radically small voice. He can't manage anything louder than a mutter what with his head being pressed to the hot pectoral beneath him, his ear cupped to that spot on Chanyeol's chest where the taller man's heart can be heard thumping and blood running like a steam engine. The Omega his lips and to distract himself he says, "Chanyeol?"

"Hm?"

"What are the letters for in the little box on your bookshelf?"

The Alpha goes silent for a moment and then slowly drawls, "Box...?"

"The metal one, on the far end? Full of letters?"

"Oh!" Chanyeol excites, slapping a hand to his forehead. "That box! I forgot about that. Why? Were you snooping around this morning?"

Baekhyun feels his cheeks heat up and he squirms but Chanyeol holds him firm against his chest. The Omega tucks his loosely balled fists under his chin and says, "I - I'm sorry Alpha. I was just looking around and - well they're curious."

"They're...letters written to myself in the future from the past. I've been doing it since I was eight or something, but I kind of stopped doing it once I debuted and my schedules got hectic." There's something in his voice, something oddly remorseful despite the bare fondness in his tone.

"Can..." Baekhyun wonders briefly if he's overstepping a line here. He doesn't think Chanyeol will hurt him, but the unpleasant riff in the taller's voice worries him. "Can I...read them?"

Chanyeol hums thoughtfully, kisses the Omega's head again, and then says, "Eventually I'll let you read them. But I - Ohhh!" Chanyeol suddenly gasps again. "Hold on, Baek."

The smaller startles as the idol sets his mate and his tea aside, and then flings himself from the bed in a dash. He disappears out of the room and leaves a very confused Baekhyun behind in the pillows. He listens intently as he hears footsteps across the floor, then the sound of the box opening, someone rummaging through it, the slither of skin against paper. Chanyeol reappears a moment later with two small rectangular slips in hand and a smile on his face. He slips back into bed and hands them over to Baekhyun, who takes them gingerly in his soft hands as if he's holding ancient scrolls.

A soft gasp emits from his lips when he reads the sloppy handwriting over each one.

To my future mate, they both say.

Chanyeol points to one with taller, scribblier penmanship. "That one I think I wrote when I was thirteen, right after I started scenting for the first time and discovered I'm an Alpha." He points to the other one with slightly better scrawl. "That one I wrote when I was...sixteen maybe?"

"What do they say?"

"I don't know, they were written years ago. I feel like I'm just embarrassing myself. Whatever is in there, you're going to cringe at it. It's cringe-worthy stuff."

Baekhyun marvels at the envelopes and turns one over to open it when beside them Chanyeol's phone goes off vibrating with a call. The Alpha groans and reaches for it, then sends Baekhyun an apologetic look before swiping the screen and lifting it to his ear. "What's the news, Junmyeon?"

The Omega cranes his hearing to catch what the Beta is saying on the other end, but without success. After a moment Chanyeol's expression softens.

"Ah, thank you so much. It won't cause too much trouble in my schedule?"

Humming.

"Well we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Alright I - what?" Baekhyun quirks a brow. "It's not? Then what is that you're calling about?" The Alpha looks at his mate, brows furrowing, and then his jaw drops. "They what? Did they really?" Pause. "But how?" Pause. "Geez, don't get testy. I - I will, I - would you - No! - yes, yes - I'll do it Junmyeon, as soon as I get dressed. - Huh? - No, I'm not going to go all the way to the company building to film a sixty-second video. I'll do it at home and then send it to you. - What, I've got the week off, don't I? Didn't you just say that? - Then calm down. We'll check it out, and I'll talk to Baekhyun. - Okay, okay. - It can wait." The Alpha rubs his forehead. "The last time I Changed? Last night. - Yes, of course it relieved some stress. Junmyeon, I can take care of myself. Don't tell me what to do." 

There it was again, that simmer and hum of a command falling from an Alpha's lips. Baekhyun leans in.

"I'm hanging up now Junmyeon. - Yes. - Thanks again."

He swipes it off and lets his phone fall into his lap with a sigh.

"That sounded taxing," Baekhyun mutters, absently the letters in his hand. The Alpha's eyes fall onto his digits and they stay there for a minute, and the Omega can't help feel like they're some kind of predatory eyes, wide and hard and pensive. He stills. "Chanyeol?"

A wolfish groan racks up from the Alpha's chest and he runs a hand through his bangs. "I have the next week off," he says. "But Junmyeon says that we have a slight problem."

Baekhyun's throat tightens and his mind immediately whirs with all the dastardly things that could go wrong in this situation. Murder? Riot? Scandal? It hasn't even been twenty-four hours! His voice shrinks. "A-Alpha?"

"Junmyeon says it's all over the kpop news websites. They're more like 24-hour gossip columns," Chanyeol replies as he takes his phone back into hand and starts flicking over the screen with long fingers. "You never know what they stir up there." His fingers come to a stop on the phone and his frown deepens. Baekhyun stares cautiously at Chanyeol's ill at ease features and then crawls over to his side on soundless hands and knees, settling on the pillows by him and peeking over his shoulder at the phone. He's sure that a moment later his expression mirrors Chanyeol's exactly.

January 7, 2015 CanineSoompi.com 5:00 am

Headline: Super-Sleuth Fans Uncover The Identity of 'The Mystery Omega'

"The question has been eating at P.C.Y. fans for days: who is the Omega that made an appearance at the SMAs with popular kpop idol P.C.Y.? There's no affirmative yet whether or not this the rapper's official mate, but so far signs are pointing to yes. Early this morning however, a fan account on Howler released information about the Omega, including photos, a citation of an Instagram account, name, and claiming that this is the identity of the Omega that attended the Seoul Music Awards. This is one of the posts:

Howler.com 1 of 2 posts
"This is Chanyeol's mate. I took a picture of him in the bathroom at the SMAs. This is his name guys: BYUN BAEKHYUN. Compare these pictures to the one on this Instagram page: [link] And tell me its not the same person [...]

"How did they do it?

"An Omega fan that attended the SMAs reportedly took photos of the Mystery Omega in the washroom [view the photos and Howler posts here], then used facial recognition software to find a match on social media sites. The fan also explained that the reason they insisted on taking a candid photo was because it was easier to see his real face without all sorts of flashing lights.

"The Instagram account of the supposed mate of P.C.Y.'s exploded with followers this morning, and fans have taken to examining the page closely.

"How do we know this is true? We don't. Not officially. [...]"

Baekhyun catches a whiff of Chanyeol's stirring pheromones, sharp and frustrated like simmering ashes or Cajun spice, and he allows a calming sigh to come to his throat and a course of his own soothing scent to rise to his skin. He shifts back onto his knees facing the taller and waits for the act to take effect.

A moment later it does, and Chanyeol is forced to rip his attention away from the article and put it onto his mate. Baekhyun watches the Alpha's uvula bounce before the latter asks,

"Do you remember someone taking pictures of you in the bathroom?"

Baekhyun nods.

"Have you checked your Instagram lately?"

The answer is no, but when Baekhyun looks over at his phone sitting on the table nearby he's hit with a sudden unpleasant ache. What if the article is right and the fan did find his personal account? What if there's anything compromising on there that everyone is now exposed to? He hasn't been on that app in months. What is he supposed to do? He doesn't know how to manage new strangers following his page. It isn't even on private mode.

But he forces himself to get up and retrieve it with a twist in his stomach. He stands by the table, his nimble fingers fly over the screen and open the app expecting maybe two new notifications from his old friends or dance class piers.

What he doesn't expect is a blaring pink 3.6k followers 19k likes 11k comments 9k tags to appear and a massive 2k DMs before his entire screen flashes green and grey and then falls into black.

He presses the home button. Nothing.

It shut itself off? It glitched out? He turns it back on, wiggling his fingers nervously as he waits for the app to load, and when he goes to his profile page there's no mistaking it.

3.6k Followers

He looks behind him at Chanyeol. "They found it alright."

The Alpha nods and slides out of bed as he downs the rest of his tea. When he pulls the cup away from his mouth he smackers his lips and then looks at Baekhyun with wide puppy eyes. "Do you have any more of this?"

Baekhyun nods and moves forward, taking the mug from his mate's hands. As Chanyeol makes for his closet he says over his shoulder, "Junmyeon says that the company wants to release an official video that confirms our relationship. They wanted me to go all the way to the SM building to film it but I told him that wasn't going to happen, so now I'm going to film myself here and send it back to him ASAP so that the media people or production people or whoever can get it online."

It takes a few minutes for Chanyeol to dress and fix his hair, and by the time he's done that Baekhyun waits with a fresh cup of tea outside the bedroom (with his letters tucked carefully away to be read for later). The Alpha lights up when he sees the Omega and Baekhyun's body fills with happy warmth - Chanyeol slips the mug into one of his own hands, then occupies his other one with one of Baekhyun's palms. "We'll go to my studio. I have cameras there," he says, and Baekhyun nods and obediently allows himself to be led up the stairs.

Chanyeol's studio still smells heavily of him, and Baekhyun hangs back for a moment clinging to the doorway, sniffing the air around him and wondering if it's possible to get high on someone's scent. He watches diligently as Chanyeol sets up a camera on a tripod on one end of the studio, facing the small leather couch and bare white wall across from it. The Alpha drops down onto the couch and grins up at the smaller. "How do I look?"

Baekhyun just stares, hating the embarrassing pink creeping to his cheeks. Chanyeol sits up and pats the spot on the couch next to him. "Come sit."

"Oh..." The Omega strides into the studio on light toes and grimaces. "I think...maybe it would be better if I didn't..."

Chanyeol frowns. "Why not?"

Baekhyun inches around the camera and stands awkwardly beside it. "Well your fans love you very much, and I think...I think maybe it'll take some time for them to get used to me..." His gaze stoops to the floor. "I think if they didn't see me it would be greater solace."

"Baekhyun..."

"I'm not ready to face your fans, Alpha."

Chanyeol looks like he wants to pursue the topic and makes to stand up but before he can Baekhyun reaches for the film camera and hovers his finger over the red record button. "R-Ready?"

Chanyeol has barely given him a confirmation before he starts the video, effectively silencing the topic.

As soon as the camera is rolling a smile is on the Alpha's face, and he bows and greets the fans with his signature introduction before straightening his back and clasping his hands together in a thoroughly important way. "First order of business: I'm preparing well for the upcoming tour! Are you excited everyone? I can't wait to meet you all and see you again, and I hope you anticipate the concerts. I was very touched when I was told that the ticket sales went as quickly as they did, but I hope none of you lost sleep or skipped on school or work for that. Take good care of yourselves until I see you, so that you can stay awake through the concert!"

He laughs. Baekhyun shakes his head and hides his smile behind his hand.

"Next very important topic," Chanyeol goes on, "on behalf of SM Entertainment, my associates, and myself, I have an announcement to make." Baekhyun smiles at the wolf's voice slowly turning giddy with excitement. He settles down on the floor beside the camera and, in the mean time, opens his Instagram account. There are still more notifications, and he leans forward and brings his knees to his chest as he begins going through his old pictures and examining each one with flustered cheeks when he sees all the comments.

"As most of you probably know, there are a lot of rumors flying around and a lot of superstition - " He pauses his monologue to cutely break out into that Stevie Wonder song, which Baekhyun briefly looks up to watch before Chanyeol goes back to talking. 

There aren't many photos on his page. A minimum number of selcas (some he feels embarrassed about now), a family photo, a picture with Yixing and with other friends, a photo from his graduation day from college, some from his past birthdays, one with his kindergarten class, and one from his family's last vacation. There's one that his mother took after his last traditional dance performance a few months ago, of him still in his costume with sweat still on his face, receiving flowers and an Award of Excellence. Another picture with Yixing. They're flooded with comments.

" - anyways, there's been a lot of superstition regarding myself and an Omega that I have been seen with. And I would like to clear all of that up right now so there will be no conflicts."

Baekhyun taps on one of the photos and starts scrolling, and for a moment his heart stops.

Who the hell does he think he is? Lol Channie isn't his.

geT YOUR ING HANDS OFF OF MY MAN

Why chanyeol, whyyyyy????? Why him??????

he ugly

He scrolls up. The results aren't much better. But he forces himself to school his wilting-hearted expression as he glances up at Chanyeol, who's still speaking animatedly into the camera.

"I would like to happily and very proudly officially announce that this Omega is my mate - " Baekhyun's ears ring. " - and I am his Alpha."

Baekhyun looks back down at his phone.

That omega can just go die okay just go

Why would Chanyeol betray us like this? Don't we love him? Why is he settling for an omega as low as this? Please chanyeol don't do it

IF THEY ING MATE I'M GOING TO ING LOSE MY OH HELL NO

Is chanyeol gay? srsly? wow

He bites his lip and it becomes difficult to blink through the pulse pushing at the back of his eyes.

"And - I just - Wow, I'm just so happy." The Alpha puts his hands on his hips. "I can't describe it, but it's a beautiful feeling. I think those of you who are mated can relate, I'm sure." He claps his hands together again and then gestures towards the camera. There's a blush on his cheeks now, but Baekhyun tears his eyes away for a moment to read a few more comments.

I'm happy for you chanyeol~ even if I don't like this omega, i'm still proud for you. but...he's the wrong choice...just in case...i'm still waiting for you...

lol who even is that omega

Chanyeol sounds like a lovesick schoolboy when he goes on. "His name is Baekhyun..." He sighs, puts his hands over his heart and closes his eyes, and then continues with even greater fervor. "And he's very very shy. We're talking super-duper shy. So please be gentle with him, he's nervous about how he will be received. But, you guys, he's so adorable. He's so cute I want to die - "

ing hate this that Omega is just a ty little er he's just out to make everyone miserable and steal our man

That one makes him visibly flinch and jerk away from the screen, but he gasps when the phone clatters loudly from his hands onto the floor. He hurries to pick it up and Chanyeol laughs. " - That was him. He's actually right here, but he's afraid to come on camera. And he just..." Baekhyun looks up at him with wide eyes. "God he's so cute." He faces the lens in front of him again. "I know there's a video of me out there actually Claiming him on the street, and I think maybe some people will say that I wasn't thinking straight, or the Claim wasn't genuine, but I can confirm 100% that it was real, and that he's my soul mate. I just feel it with every fiber of my being."

There are some nice comments too, of course. But they don't scream at him and fill his head with a frightening and embarrassed red, and his eyes pass over them as if they're made of a misty haze, so few and far between.

Everyone who is bashing you is unbelievable. They're out of their minds and they say the meanest things, they're not true though! <3<3 Be good for Channie!

omg Chanyeol! Your omega is so cute and such a babe! congrats!

Baaaaaaaaaaabe

WHAT A CUTE LIL MAN HE'S A PROFESSIONAL BABE

He really is a babe

Baekhyun furrows his brows a bit when he notices that over half of the complimentary comments refer to him as "babe". What does that even mean? He quickly looks the word up on some dictionary site and the result confuses him even more.

babe |bāb|beyb|
noun
1 chiefly literary, a baby.
2 (also babes) informal, an affectionate form of address, typically for someone with whom one has a ual or romantic relationship, or for someone who is perceived as being ually attractive.
3 a ually attractive young woman, girl, or Omega: "he's been pumping up his pecs to impress the babes."
4 (informal) a naive, gullible, or unsuspecting person.
5 archaic, formal, a term of address referring to an admirable Omega, especially one that is emotionally, mentally, or ually stimulating: "My babe! Come hither, for I court thee dawn of heaven, and lips hath silk of touch and kiss of babe be mine" (excerpt from Shakespeare's play "Full Moon Dream")
6 (usually initial capital letter) Southern U.S. (used, often before the surname, as a familiar name for a boy or man, especially the youngest of a family.)

It feels like trying to put a puzzle together in his head, except none of the edges actually match. What do they mean he's a babe?

AKSLEJWOSDNOIENW SLKJD NO I HOPE THAT OMEGA ING KILLS HIMSELF GODDAMMIT

"I feel like a new chapter of my life is starting, and it's very welcome. It doesn't mean that my music is being put on the back burner, and my fans definitely won't be either. I love both my mate and my fans, and I hope that I can find an equilibrium between you and him, because I know that many people will be upset or maybe disappointed by my unification with Baekhyun, but I hope no one will take it personally."

Baekhyun stares at his phone screen, overwhelmed and besides himself with discomfort. With nervous tears behind his eyes he puts his phone down and crawls across the floor to sit at Chanyeol's feet, leaning into the taller's shins where he knows the camera won't see him. As Chanyeol finishes up his speech and prepares to say goodbye to the camera lens he reaches a hand down and pats the Omega's head, drawing from the smaller's lips a soft sigh.

When the idol is done - finishing with a bow from his waist and a wave - he falls back, his weight sinking fully into the leather cushions, and says, "Hey, I did that in one take. Look at that." He stretches a hand back out to Baekhyun's soft locks. "Are you okay?"

The Omega leans his head into Chanyeol's knees, embarrassed by his sensitivity. What is he supposed to say? He's being cyber-bullied? That just sounds ridiculous. It's not Chanyeol's problem to deal with the fact that Luhan was right. People do hate him. Wolves - Omegas and non-Omegas alike - are snarling at him and snapping at his legs.

ugly

ty

He shouldn't let them get to him. He doesn't know them, and he hasn't done anything wrong. He knows what they're saying isn't true...he thinks. He shouldn't let them get to him.

But he does.

Chanyeol sniffs the air and grimaces. "Whoa. You're certainly not okay. What happened, love?" he asks, bending over his knees and behind Baekhyun's ear. The Omega cranes his neck to give the Alpha better access.

"It's nothing, Alpha," Baekhyun mutters, letting himself be nuzzled and preened. "Please don't worry."

"Baekhyun."

He closes his eyes and breathes once through his nose, his insecurity flushing all the way across his skin. The smaller carefully turns and rises from his position, finding much more ease in quietly crawling onto the couch and burrowing his head onto Chanyeol's shoulder than opening his mouth. The Alpha sits unmoving, being the shoulder that Baekhyun needs to rest on now; both metaphorically and literally. But Chanyeol is as patient as a teething puppy, and though he still radiates comfort he taps Baekhyun's side within a matter of moments.

"Baek?"

The Omega's voice is small when he answers. "Yeah?"

"Can you tell me?"

He keeps his face pressed dutifully into Chanyeol's shoulder when the Alpha tries to turn his head to look at him. "I don't want you to worry..."

"Then it's clearly something I should be worried about."

Baekhyun laughs softly into the Alpha's sweater. "No..."

"Baekhyun, I want...I want to make something clear, to set just one boundary right from the get-go."

This prompts the Omega to look up, concern riddling his brow. Chanyeol watches him closesly, letting a silent moment pass between them before he goes on.

"Be honest," he says. "Just tell the truth. Always." He takes and holds Baekhyun's hand and his thumb brushes over the soft skin. "I will not put sanctions on you. But I need you to be honest with me, about anything and everything. You...You'll find that this is one of my values."

Baekhyun spares a sheepish look into his eyes, and after a moment he shrugs and his gaze sinks to his lap. "I don't know. It's just, well, your fans don't seem to like me very much..."

"When did they say that?" Chanyeol's voice grows with concern.

The Omega leans his elbow onto the back of the sofa and leans his head into his closed fist. He says, sounding unsure, "On my Instagram?"

"Can I see?"

Baekhyun bites back a whimper. "You don't have to. I'm just being sensitive."

"Don't say that like it's a bad thing."

"Hm."

"Besides," Chanyeol announces as he wraps an arm around Baekhyun's shoulders. The latter is starting to really enjoy the skinship, though he has yet to get used to it. "It's only been a few days. No one has any reason to dislike you, there are no grounds upon which to judge you yet. No one has had a chance to get to know you - not even me! I'm still getting there! I don't even know your favorite color." He looks pointedly into the smaller's eyes. "Whatever they're saying, they're wrong. They're biased against you."

"You're biased," Baekhyun mutters. "Because I'm your mate."

"Nah, you're just amazing."

Baekhyun crooks his brows, his heart dancing behind his ribcage. "A little wimpy hormonal Omega is amazing?"

"You're not just any Omega - you're my little Omega. And wimpy and hormonal are not the words that come to mind to describe you: you're soft and smart. And cute. And - "

Before he can go on and bring an even further blush to Baekhyun's cheeks, the smaller presses his finger to Chanyeol's lips with a soft quirk of a smile. "My favorite color is yellow," he says. "Just so you know."

Chanyeol smiles against his finger, tilting his head cutely and with such adoration. "Mine's red," he replies, and tackles Baekhyun onto the couch with a signature hug.

Uploaded January 7, 2015 YouTube.com 52 minutes ago

Recommended Video: (Cut) Chen Interview at 2015 Seoul Music Awards [W/ SUBS] 840p

1:20 / 2:15 

I: We saw that you went over to sit with P.C.Y.'s new mate! What's your first impression of him?

C: Baekhyun? Oh, he's such a babe.

I: /laughs/ A babe?

C: A total babe! I love him already! Yeah, he didn't know what was going on, so he was panicking a little. I thought I'd go help.

I: That's very considerate of you! What about you? Do you have any yearnings for your own mate?

C: /looks real in nervous/ /CUTE NERVOUS LAUGH GUYS/ Ah...I...I don't know. I...yeah, no.

I: Well thank you for your time, and congratulations on your win!

C: /bows/ Thank you!

Comments:

chendaelicious  He looks so good wth

sundae love  "He's such a babe" oh my god Chen you're so cute.

pc y u do dis  HE'S SUCH A BABE LMAO CHEN

Phoenix  Baekhyun's a babe apparently guys

                        Reply: Are you on a first-name basis with Chanyeol's mate now? XD :') :'''(

chanloveforever  "He's such a babe I love him already" not you too chen...