Jaejoong feels warm, it’s an annoying trend. He also feels heavy and well rested even if feels like he could slip right back into sleep. 

His mind is prickling around the edges though, questions pinging to life. Where was he? What time was it? How long had he been asleep? This bed is heaven, where did he get it again? 

The room that comes into his hazy vision is not his own, though. It’s mostly dark, with just a small lamp lit on a bedside table, the curtains are drawn mostly closed but he can catch the view of a dark night sky through a sliver of split fabric. 

So, it was nighttime and he was not in his own home. Luckily, he didn’t feel the need to panic, in part because he recognized the room (and hated himself for being able to do so) because it belonged to Yunho. He remembers being with Yunho, well with Jihye- at school then at the café... Then it was Yunho, in the car and then they ended up in the man’s apartment.  

Just as he is about to begin trying to figure out why he feels so heavy, like he cannot move, those memories come back too. The way he would whine and call for Yunho, he can remember the desire to reach for and touch clawing at his skin until he had finally did just that. 

Which explains the weigh once he finally, finally uses his eyes and looks. Yunho is sprawled out on top of him, halfway at least, tucked away into his side and curled around him like a koala.  Jaejoong never wants to move and at the same time he feels like he should move away because he probably doesn’t deserve to be there with the alpha. 

Yunho knows, though, a part of his mind insists. The alpha knows about his apparent impending heat- which is terrifying, and that he is a filthy, useless omega. For some reason, he’s still in Yunho’s home, in his apartment despite that. He can also recall, with just a little trying, the efforts the man put into tending to him. Feeding and keeping him hydrated.  

The next thing, two things, that filter in have Jaejoong flushing bright pink. Waking up to an isn’t anything out of the ordinary, it isn’t anything abnormal for a man and neither is the need to roll out of bed to relieve himself- of both issues. That is a little bit more difficult when buried under another body, though. 

Which statement was more embarrassing to shake the older man awake with? Hey, get off of me you’re making my worse? Or let me up before I accidentally wet the bed? Or did he just go all in an complain that he didn’t know if he would come or piss first if Yunho didn’t get off of him? He definitely would never be saying that last one aloud, he’d sooner willingly cut his own tongue out. 

He does attempt to free himself, to slide out from under the man, but all he realizes if that the comforter is making it impossible, the leg pressed between his thighs is making it worse. Worse for getting away and worse because the desire to slide down as much as he can and roll his hips is there and he could, he so easily could. 

“Yunho,” the blonde whispers, voice hoarse from lack of use and his slight predicament, “Yunho, let me go.” 

Immediately, Jaejoong comes to realize those words are the wrong ones. The alpha doesn’t open his eyes, he doesn’t really give any sort of indication that implies he is conscious, except the hold the alpha has on him tightens up. It’s almost like Yunho is protesting his words without being aware he is doing it. The arm around his waist tightens and he feels like he is being shuffled further under the older man- which is the opposite of what he needs... 

The tiny part of his mind that claims it’s nice is promptly ignored, told to off properly. It’s dangerous being so close to another person, being so close to Yunho, even if it does feel nice- it feels right but it certainly isn’t. 

“Oh god, not helping,” he whines softly, using the arm he has free to try and pry Yunho’s hold from his waist, but the angle is all wrong and it isn’t really working, “I need to get out of this bed. Get off of me, Yunho.” 

There is no more koala clinging, thank god because he might actually pee the bed if any more of weight presses into him. What happens instead, is a soft grumble, a soft growl that seems to vibrate within Yunho’s chest, which is startling enough for Jaejoong to pause. The shock only lasts a second- long enough that he realizes he isn’t afraid of that noise. 

Why won’t Yunho let him go? Does the alpha not want to let him go? Those are the answers he wishes he had. 

How is he going to do this? Short of poking his fingers into Yunho’s eyes or screaming. 

Alpha. 

Omega. 

No, definitely not... 

But, the thought is there... 

“Alpha,” Jaejoong breathes softly, scraping his teeth over his lower lip, “alpha. Alpha let me up, please.” 

It isn’t a magical open sesame that has Yunho rolling off of him, but the soft growling stops suddenly and the next thing he knows dark almond eyes are staring into his own, slightly glazed over and fluttering in an attempt to fight the need to squint against the sudden light from the bedside lamp.  

Jaejoong shivers because he cannot stop himself, mouth parting slightly in surprise. He does know that alpha and omega are what some couples call one another. Bonded couples, mated couples. It’s supposed to be something primal, something intimate.  

Not a wakeup call, but if it works... 

Besides, it hadn’t felt wrong at all, calling Yunho alpha. 

“Jae...” Yunho breathes softly, blinking a few times until the haze clears from his eyes, “... Are you alright?” 

“I uh- need to use the restroom and... You uh, you’re kind of...” 

Unable to force the words from his mouth, he motions up and down at the way they’re laying with one hand instead. 

“Oh... right, right, yes,” the older man mumbles, pushing away until he can sit up properly. 

Jaejoong is already in the doorway of the en suite when he pauses, raking his teeth over his lower lip. Don’t do it, his mind urges him. Distance is what he needs, what Yunho surely wants now that he is conscious and aware of himself. 

But the alpha is watching him, his expression something soft that causes his stomach to twist in a way that isn’t all bad. 

“We’ll resume the aggressive cuddling in a minute or...?” he pitches his voice carefully, sure to make it out into a question, an offer for Yunho to decide. 

He wants to though, and he honestly can’t decide why. Instinct? Desire? Both? 

There is a reason he keeps a photo of Yunho tucked away in his wallet like it might be his greatest treasure. Will he ever be able to admit why that was, even to himself? Probably not. It’s like he isn’t even willing to think the words. 

But, if he is being fair to himself; he hasn’t been so open with anything for as long as he can remember and he’s hardly opened up at all. 

He’s barely off of his medication and his body is already freaking out, like it is fighting him, punishing him for denying and rebelling against himself for so long.  

It was going to be bad, bad for someone like Jaejoong who kept himself at a distance from everyone. He was afraid of alphas and terrified of omegas and now he is, quite literally, in bed with the very first alpha that had ever seen through him- or had called him out at least. Not the people who whispered about how he was too pretty or too broad either, but someone who had come into his home when he was young. Someone who was relevant to his life. 

He’d been struck the first time he laid eyes on Yunho; but that hadn’t been so farfetched. Jaejoong had always known what he was like, he had not been allowed posters or anything on his wall, but he had hid magazines under his mattress, the same sort the girls in his classes liked. The lists of the most attractive guys in the world, the photo spreads of shirtless, male underwear models. He’d never looked at females beyond anything as pieces of art, pretty, delicate, strong, sturdy, stern some mix of them all. Or evil, twisted like Hwayoung or his mother- but Hwayoung was still really pretty, and his mother had been lovely before she’d changed her face too. 

Did he like Yunho? It was such a simple question, and even Jaejoong knew the answer was obvious he just... when it felt like it could actually matter, he couldn’t bring himself to admit it. 

“Jae,” Yunho calls, and he suspects it isn’t the first time judging by the expression on his face, but he doesn’t look mad for some reason, “Go on, so I can drag you back into bed to cuddle you.” 

The words make him want to smile, and so he simply does, more openly than he’s allowed himself for as long as he can remember. 

Yunho wants to cuddle him, then, or he’s willing to put him with him for a little bit, and he’ll take that for now, while he can. 

He flees behind the bathroom door and closes it with a soft click to tend to himself. 

-----

Yunho is still in bed when he creeps back into the room at least 15 minutes later.  He’s a little bit more composed than he was when he has crawled out of bed. 

Namely because of his washed face and pilfered mouthwash, making him at least 70% less disgusting than he had been. The lack of aching between his legs helps a great deal too, his mind is slightly less hazy, his skin feels slightly less warm. 

Not enough that Jaejoong can delude himself into pretending he’s an alpha or a beta like he usually does; hell he cannot even lull himself into a false reality where he isn’t staring down a narrow corridor with his heat closing in on him. 

He doesn’t even know what to be expecting, not really. Discomfort is what they said in school, and emotional instability. In schools where the children were all from rich families and everything was supposed to be elite there was no education to be found when it came to ‘crude’ manners and omegas and their heats were considered just that. 

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