It was the middle of the day and the local café was bustling. It wasn’t necessarily busy but majority of the tables were taken up. What annoyed Sehun was how most of the tables had only one person at them but the tables could fit between two to four people. Why was it so necessary for people to take up so much space when they didn’t need to? Sehun wasn’t here alone and he needed a table to sit him and his childhood friend. Sehun knew it was stupid of him to be annoyed at such a small issue but he wasn’t having the best day and he just really wanted to sit down to talk to his friend. It was also probably stupid on his part to agree to meet Baekhyun at the same time every week when the café was usually filled with people. It was the only time he had free between classes and he would rather spend time with Baekhyun than not at all.

 

Luckily, Sehun saw a person getting up and packing up their laptop, clearly getting ready to leave. Sehun took quick steps over to the table and put his hand on one of the chairs, silently claiming this table as his.

“Hey, sorry, but are you leaving?” Sehun asked, just to make sure.

The person smiled at him and nodded. “Yeah, it’s all yours.”

“Thanks,” Sehun replied, returning the person’s smile and sat down.

“Have a great day!”
“Yeah, you too.”

 

One of the baristas made their way over to Sehun’s table and gave it a quick clean, clearing away the empty mug and small plate covered in crumbs. They grabbed the cloth hanging from their apron and gave the table a wipe down before walking away, giving Sehun a classic customer-service smile. Sehun rested his elbows on the table, his face in his hands, and sighed.

 

“What’s up with you?” he heard a familiar voice say. Sehun looked up and saw Baekhyun standing before him with a cup of coffee in his hand. Sehun frowned and dropped his head onto the table, letting out a groan.

“Alright, come on, out with it. What’s up?” the alpha asked, placing his cup of coffee onto the table before sitting in the chair opposite his friend.

Sehun groaned again, lifting his head up slightly to look at Baekhyun. “You didn’t hear?”

“Hear what?”

Sehun sighed and sat up properly, straightening his clothes. “Jongin is finally of age and has imprinted back on Kyungsoo and now they’re being all…” Sehun smashed his hands together, making a noise of disgust.

Baekhyun nodded in understanding and took a sip of his coffee.

“It’s gross,” Sehun continued, his frowning deepening.

Baekhyun shrugged. “Kyungsoo has been waiting two years for this. Let them enjoy their time together.”

“I am!” Sehun exclaimed, drawing attention from a few of the other customers in the café. Sehun blushed slightly out of embarrassment and slouched, as if to hide himself from the few people looking at him. “I’m only here because they were blasting their goddamn pheromones in my dorm room. Why can’t they mate already?”

Sehun dropped his head onto the table again and let out another groan. Baekhyun chuckled and patted the omega’s head, not really attempting to make Sehun feel any better but it was something he always did since they were kids and hoped that maybe it did help.

Sehun pouted and swatted Baekhyun’s hand away from his head.

“You know how Kyungsoo is,” Baekhyun reasoned. “He’s the traditional alpha type. Courting first, mate later.”

“Well, can he court Jongin somewhere other than the dorm?” Sehun complained, sitting up and crossing his arms in annoyance. “I live in that room too, you know. And Kyungsoo keeps trying to include me in their little… activities. I hate being their third wheel.”

Baekhyun tilted his head and gave the omega a small, amused smile, which maybe had Sehun’s heart skipping a beat. “You don’t realise it, do you?”

“Realise, what?”

“You’re an omega, yes?”

Sehun nodded.

“You’re Jongin’s best friend, aren’t you?”

Sehun nodded again.

“Kyungsoo is being very friend with you, right?”

Sehun nodded for a third time.

Baekhyun raised his eyebrows. “You still don’t get it?”

The omega tilted his head in confusion and looked down at the table trying to see if maybe he could find an ounce of understanding there but nothing came to mind. He looked back at the alpha and shook his head.

Baekhyun laughed softly to himself and took another sip of his coffee. “Wow, you really are stupid.”

Sehun pouted and glared at Baekhyun.

“Hey, don’t look at me like that unless you want me to kiss you,” Baekhyun amused, bringing his cup to his lips for another long sip of coffee.

 

Sehun’s eyes widened as soon as he heard the words leave the alpha’s mouth, the frustration and annoyance leaving his body for a just a moment to be replaced with shock and surprise. He knew Baekhyun was joking, like he always was, but how the hell was Sehun supposed to respond to that? From time to time, Baekhyun would always make little flirty quips like that it sent Sehun’s heart lurching out of his chest. The omega just assumed that it was part of Baekhyun’s alpha demeanour and that he enjoyed making fun of Sehun. Sehun was definitely sure that there was no way in heaven or hell that Baekhyun had any interest in him. They had been childhood friends since they were babies in diapers that was the way it was always going to be, even if the thought of that had Sehun’s heart clenching at the most inopportune times.

 

Sehun swallowed the lump of saliva caught in his throat and tried to school his expression back into one of annoyance. He rolled his eyes and muttered a ‘shut up’ only to have Baekhyun chuckle at him.

“Kyungsoo is trying to gain your approval, idiot,” Baekhyun continued.

“Wait, what?” Sehun said, eyebrows furrowing. “Is that like a… an alpha thing?”

Baekhyun hummed and brought his coffee cup to his lips, pausing in thought for a second before nodding and taking a few more sips from his cup before putting it back down. “We, alphas, are possessive. We want to take care of our mate and make them happy, which also includes making those closest to them happy,”

Sehun moved his head in a slow nod as his brain took in the information he was given, still trying to understand why Kyungsoo cared so much.

“Kyungsoo is trying to make you feel included because he knows you haven’t come of age yet and he doesn’t want to make it seem like he’s stealing Jongin from you,” the alpha explained.

“But I don’t think he’s stealing Jongin from me. They’re mates. They’re supposed to be together.”

Baekhyun shrugged and picked up his coffee cup to take more sips, seeing Sehun scrunch his face in disgust out of the corner of his eye. “Kyungsoo doesn’t want you hating him. He wants you to accept him and their relationship.”

 

The omega hummed as he let the information Baekhyun has told him sink in, feeling a lot less annoyed and frustrated compared to before. Talking things out with Baekhyun always helped Sehun to calm down and see things clearer. His mother always told him that he was a little hot-headed and never thought things through thoroughly, always acting on his emotions and jumping headfirst into situations, be them dangerous and/or stupid. But Baekhyun was always there to talk him through his feelings, to explain things to him that he never considered. It was like Sehun always had this tension built up inside of him and Baekhyun always had the magic words to ease the tension and make it disappear. It was probably one of the reasons why they had been friends for so long. Sehun didn’t like to think about it, because it made him hope for things that he knew he would never have, but he did think that, in a way, Baekhyun completed him.

 

“Who knew you were so smart?” Sehun joked.

Baekhyun smirked. “I have my moments.”

Sehun rolled his eyes as Baekhyun took another sip of his coffee.

“So… um…” Sehun muttered, fiddling with his fingers on the table. “Have you imprinted on anyone yet?”

Baekhyun stiffened, placing his cup down on the table and clearing his throat. “Uh, yeah, I have.”

“Oh…” Sehun replied, training his eyes on the table before him, not daring to look up at Baekhyun, already regretting asking the question. He knew the smell of disappointment was slowing seeping into his omega scent but he was trying to keep it under control. He moved his hands down to his lap, his fingers digging into his jeans and grabbing on tightly. “Is it someone we know?”

Baekhyun thinks about it for a second and hums. “You could say that you know him. Pretty well too.”

Sehun swore he could hear his own heart crack and sighed to himself before looking up reluctantly at the alpha. “Do they know?”

Baekhyun shook his head and bringing his cup of coffee to his lips and swallowing what was left. “Hasn’t got a clue. He hasn’t come of age yet so I’m waiting.”

 

Sehun’s heart was clenching harder and harder with each word that left Baekhyun’s mouth. He knew he shouldn’t have asked. He knew he shouldn’t have changed the topic of conversation to this. Baekhyun had come of age three years ago so of course he had most likely imprinted on someone during that time, but Sehun was holding onto the one 0.000001% chance that maybe Baekhyun wouldn’t imprint on anyone or maybe would imprint on him. However, the alpha never made a move on Sehun so the omega could only assume it was someone else. And that was what hurt the most. The fact that Baekhyun would never be his and that he would never belong to Baekhyun hurt him in ways he couldn’t even begin to explain. Sehun didn’t even care that there was someone out there who was supposed to be his mate and that they were waiting for him. He had been in love with his childhood friend for so long and he could never picture himself with anyone else.

 

“What’s he like?” Sehun asked, knowing that he didn’t want to know the answer, but he couldn’t stop himself from asking.

Baekhyun looked into his coffee cup and smiles. A smile that had Sehun frowning and deflating. The alpha placed his coffee cup back down on the table and leaned on his elbows, his face resting in his hands. “Well, he’s… cute.”

“Cute?”

Baekhyun nodded. “A little stupid sometimes but cute.”

Sehun curled his fingers into a fist under the table, his nails digging into the palms of his hands. He wanted to hit at his chest to get rid of the pain that was growing every second. It was like someone reached into his chest, dug their nails into his heart and squeezed as hard as they could.

“He hates the smell and taste of coffee but will happily sit with me in a café if I want coffee. Sometimes complains about ridiculous things but he’s easy to talk to and cares about his friends. He’s a good guy,” Baekhyun continued. If the smile on his face and the happiness seeping into his scent was anything to go by, the alpha was very much in…like – Sehun didn’t want to think about ‘love’ – with his future mate, whoever they may be. Baekhyun was happy. And as much as Sehun wished he could be Baekhyun’s mate, Sehun really just wanted his Baekhyun to be happy.

“He sounds great. I wish you all the best, Baek,” Sehun said, feigning a smile at his friend, trying to hide the hurt he could feel coursing throughout his entire body.

 

 

 

 

Sehun stormed into his shared dorm room, slamming the door behind him, not caring about the commotion he was making. He kicked off his shoes, threw his bag to the side and jumped onto his bed face-down, ignoring Jongin who was sitting at the wooden desk between their beds. Sehun laid on his stomach, arms folded underneath his head, his eyes staring at the white wall next to his bed. He didn’t want to think about anything but the only thing going through his mind were thoughts. So many goddamn thoughts about imprinting and mates and how the person he was in love with would never be his.

 

Jongin’s fingers froze over his laptop keyboard as he glanced over in concern at his best friend. He closed his laptop and stood up to stretch before nudging at Sehun to move over on the bed. Sehun turned his head and looked up at his friend with one eye open, sighing and sitting up, pulling his knees under his chin. Jongin sat down next to Sehun, his arm going around his best friend’s shoulders.

“Talk to me, buddy,” Jongin encouraged only to have Sehun shake his head.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“You always clam up about your problems. Let your best friend console you.”

Sehun looked down at his fiddling fingers. “I just…” Sehun sighed. “I want to be twenty-one already. I can’t do this anymore.”

Jongin nodded in understanding, rubbing Sehun’s arm in hopes of providing him even a small ounce of comfort. “Baekhyun?”

Sehun closed his eyes and nodded.

“Hey, it will all work out. Your birthday is in a few weeks. Fate isn’t going to you over.”

Sehun scoffed. “Yeah, I don’t know about that,” he murmured, resting his head on Jongin’s shoulder.

 

Sehun snuggled closer to Jongin and breathed the other omega in, trying to push down the pain that was growing inside of him. He could smell a bit of Kyungsoo on Jongin, the sharp scent reminding him of something he could never have. Sehun knew that he had a true mate somewhere out there but that didn’t matter to him. He didn’t want that person. He didn’t want a random person he had to learn to love. Sehun had already given his heart away to someone who would never even know they had it.

 

“It’s going to be okay,” Jongin whispered, causing Sehun to whimper and let out a few tears.

 

God, it just really hurt.

 

 

 

 

Sehun lay on his bed in the dark, wide awake and listening to Jongin snore on the other side of the room. He grabbed his phone next to his pillow, unlocking it with this thumb. The time read 3:26AM and Sehun knew he needed sleep desperately but his brain was so wide awake. He stared at his phone wallpaper, a photo of him and Baekhyun smiling brightly with their arms around each other at an amusement park. He remembered that day so vividly. All the laughs and smiles and screaming on rides. It was a whole day of making memories with Baekhyun and it was those memories Sehun wanted to treasure for the rest of his life. Sehun held onto these memories because he knew that one day he wouldn’t be able to make them with Baekhyun any more. One day, Baekhyun wouldn’t have the time for him anymore and he would be off making loving memories with someone who would be more important that Sehun. Sehun was only a friend and nothing more.

 

The omega could feel the tears stinging at the corner of his eyes and he tried to hold them back from falling. He hated this. He hated feeling like this, especially when the person he was thinking about wasn’t even aware of the pain he was going through. He didn’t want to feel any more. He needed this to be over.

 

Sehun ran his thumb over the screen and sighed. He changed the wallpaper on his phone to one of the generic colourful ones that came with the phone when he bought it. He locked the screen and put his phone back to its original position next to his pillow. He turned to face the wall and let one tear fall before closing his eyes and drifting off to a rough sleep.

 

 

 

 

Another regular morning had Sehun sitting in a large lecture hall, typing up notes on his laptop as the lecturer talked non-stop. He had a few rough nights without getting much sleep, which just gave him a constant headache that he had been fighting all morning. Jongin worried over him, telling him how his eyebags were so bad they could carry all the groceries the both of them needed for the next month. Sehun just rolled his eyes at his best friend and said he was fine. Even Kyungsoo mentioned how ragged Sehun looked but he tried not to bring it up too much. The alpha was always good at reading people and he knew when to keep his mouth shut about certain things, a quality Sehun really appreciated about the alpha.

 

Sehun was doing fine. As fine as he could be doing.

 

The omega was distracted from typing his notes when his phone lit up with a text notification.

 

Baek: Hey! You free to hang tonight?

 

Out of habit, Sehun typed back a ‘yeah’ in response but paused for a second before backspacing his message. He stared at the text message for a few seconds, knowing what he wanted to reply with, but he went with what he needed to reply with instead.

 

Sehun: Sorry, busy.

 

Sehun locked his phone and put it into his bag, telling himself that he didn’t want to be distracted during class. Though, honestly, the reason was something else entirely.

 

 

 

 

Sehun laughed at a joke Jongin said and threw some of his fries at his best friend who dodged them the best he could.

“That was so lame!” Sehun complained.

“Well, excuse you for not having a sense of humour,” Jongin replied, picking up one of the fries that fell on his shirt and shoving it into his mouth.

 

Sehun laughed and shook his head only to be pulled out of the conversation as his phone pinged with a notification. He unlocked his phone and saw a message from Baekhyun. His whole body tensed slightly, which didn’t go unnoticed by Kyungsoo and Jongin but they went back to whispering to each other, knowing not to get involved.

 

Baekhyun: Are you in your room? I finally got a copy of The Room. Prepare to be blown away by the worst movie of all time lol

 

Sehun furrowed his eyebrows. He knew how much he wanted to see that movie, and how much he wanted to see the movie with Baekhyun. Baekhyun had been talking about it non-stop but Sehun had yet to have the chance to watch the film with the alpha. In ten minutes, Sehun knew that he could be cuddling up next to Baekhyun with a bowl of popcorn and breathing in the scent of the alpha he missed immensely. In ten minutes, he knew he could be laughing with Baekhyun, joking with Baekhyun, playfully hitting Baekhyun. In ten minutes, he knew he could just be with Baekhyun, even if it was just as friends.

 

But Sehun needed this to be over.

 

Sehun: Sorry, I’m out right now. Maybe another time.

 

Sehun put his phone on silent and placed it screen-down on the table. Jongin gestured to it with his chain, raising his eyebrows as if asking a question. Sehun shook his head and smiled before throwing another fry at Jongin.

 

 

 

 

Sehun was sitting on his bed with his laptop resting on his lap, The Room playing on the screen. He could see why this movie had a cult following and he could see how it was amusing to watch but Sehun didn’t laugh once. He knew that it would have been more fun to have someone to watch with. If he was watching with Baekhyun, he probably would have been rolling over in laughter and yelling at the TV, imitating Johnny’s “you’re tearing me apart, Lisa!”. He would have made more memories that he would have held close to his heart.

 

God, Sehun really need to stop thinking about Baekhyun.

 

But it didn’t matter what he did, Sehun was always thinking about the alpha. Everywhere he went, every action he made, every word he spoke, something was always reminding him about Baekhyun.

 

When would this be over? When would he stop feeling like this?

 

Sehun wished it was possible for him to reach into his own chest and rip out his heart so he wouldn’t have to feel any more.

 

A knock at the door brought Sehun out of his thoughts, making him realise he missed out on a chunk of the movie, his mind too far away to even pay attention to the ridiculousness of the film. Sehun paused the movie, moved his laptop to the side and walked towards the door.

“Who is it?” Sehun called out.

“It’s me,” a familiar voice replied, stopping Sehun in his tracks, his hand hovering over the doorknob.

 

Sehun took a deep breath and schooled his expression into one of indifference. He opened the door wide enough to fit his body but block the rest of the room from his guest’s view.

“Hey, did you need something?” Sehun asked, trying to sound as normal as possible.

“It’s been a while. I miss you.” Sehun’s heart clenched once. “Are you free right now?” Baekhyun gave Sehun a hopeful smile.

The omega leaned against the door frame and folded his arms across his chest. “Sorry, I’m studying right now.”

Baekhyun’s smile fell and Sehun automatically felt terrible for making the alpha upset.

 

He could have invited Baekhyun inside and the alpha would smile and Sehun would feel at peace. He could have let Baekhyun join him while he was watching The Room and make things go back to the way they were, giving the alpha some excuse like he really had just been busy with university and assessments and such. He could have just let himself be with Baekhyun again. As much as he wanted it, as much as his body was aching for Baekhyun’s touch and company, he knew he had to let go.

 

“Oh. I probably should have text you first,” Baekhyun muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Yeah, probably,” was all Sehun managed to say.

 

There was an awkward silence between them and some strange tension which Baekhyun didn’t really understand. He didn’t understand what happened between them but he didn’t want to push the omega away any further than he had been over the past couple weeks. Baekhyun looked at Sehun and reached a hand out to touch Sehun’s face only to have the omega flinch and take a step back from him. Baekhyun sighed and dropped his hand, clenching his hand into a fist at his side. The alpha really missed Sehun and judging by the slight flicker in Sehun’s eyes, the omega was dearly missing him too. Baekhyun just didn’t understand but he didn’t want to push either.

 

“I guess I’ll just leave you to it then,” Baekhyun said, hurt lacing his voice.

“Yeah… I’ll see you later.”

“Will you?” Baekhyun asked.

“Will I what?” Sehun replied, tilting his head.

“See me later.”

Baekhyun could see Sehun’s face change for just a second, a second of furrowed eyebrows and pain flickering through his eyes, before his expression changed back to indifference.

“Goodbye, Baekhyun,” Sehun said before closing the door.

 

Baekhyun sighed and dropped his head, lifting up his arm and touching the door.

“Come back to me, Sehun,” he whispered, hoping that maybe Sehun would hear him and not hear him at the same time. He turned away from the door and left down the hallway.

 

As soon as Sehun heard the footsteps fade, he turned his back towards the door and slid down to the floor, pulling his knees to his chest and dropping his head. He tried to take deep breaths but it was hard for him to breathe. It took everything he had to pretend like nothing was wrong to Baekhyun. It took everything he had to not pull Baekhyun into his arms and keep him there for as long as possible. It took everything he had to turn Baekhyun away. Saying ‘goodbye’ to Baekhyun was the hardest thing he ever had to do. It really felt like he was saying goodbye to the alpha, to all their memories together, to everything that made them inseparable. In a way, Sehun knew that was what it had meant but at the same time he didn’t want to believe it. It all made Sehun feel sick to his stomach.

 

How was he supposed to go on like this?

 

 

 

 

Sehun entered the café, his eyes quickly darting around to make sure a certain alpha wasn’t there. He knew Baekhyun would be busy at this specific time, but one could never be too sure. He relaxed and quickly made his way to the counter, ordering himself a small cup of coffee before finding an empty table to sit at. He was now one of those people he found annoying in cafés, those people who sat by themselves at a table made for four. He scoffed at himself and shook his head.

 

Sehun didn’t really understand what he was doing here. The café was some place familiar and he missed it, like how he missed Baekhyun. He never liked coffee but here he was, letting the smell of coffee envelope him and remind him of those times during the day that he would spend here with Baekhyun. Sehun wrapped his fingers around his cup and smiled to himself at the warmth seeping into his fingers. He brought the cup up to his mouth and took a sip, cringing at the bitter taste that reminded him why he didn’t drink coffee. He put the cup back down and stared at it, unsure as to why he bought it – probably only because it made him feel like he was still connected to Baekhyun in some way.

 

“You know, it’s not going to catch on fire, no matter how long you stare at it.” Baekhyun’s voice brought Sehun out of his thoughts, lifting his head, mouth dropping open. “Why do you look so surprised?”

Sehun closed his mouth a few times, trying to find the right words to say. “What… What are you doing here?”

“Class was cancelled and I wanted coffee,” Baekhyun replied, shrugging and taking a seat opposite Sehun.

“Um, I have somewhere I need to be so I’m going to go.” Sehun stood up, trying to decide if he should at least try to finish the coffee first but he felt the urgent need to get out of this place.

 

Sehun took one step towards the door only to be stopped by Baekhyun grabbing onto his arm. Sehun looked down at the fingers gripping tightly onto his wrist and then up at the alpha who was frowning. The omega wanted to reach out and touch him, to tell him ‘sorry’, to make everything better so that Baekhyun didn’t have to have that pained expression on his face anymore.

“I don’t know what happened between us, Sehun, but I want to fix it,” Baekhyun said, his grip tightening just slightly, his eyes pleading. “Please.”

“I’m sorry, Baekhyun, I’ve got to go,” Sehun replied, pushing the alpha’s hand away from him and walking towards the door.

“I’ll see you at your birthday party!” Baekhyun called out after Sehun, stopping the omega in his tracks.

Sehun took a deep breath and turned his head slightly to nod once at Baekhyun before quickly exiting the café.

 

 

 

 

The house was loud with music and bustling with people coming in and out. Sehun didn’t expect his party to be this big but his parents seemed to have gone all out for it. The omega told his parents that he was happy to just have a dinner with his family and close friends. They shook their heads and told him not be silly, they were definitely going to throw him the biggest party he had seen because his special day deserved to be celebrated the right way. Sehun couldn’t say ‘no’ to his parents so he let them do as they pleased.

 

Sehun was in the middle of the living room, chatting with Kyungsoo and Jongin. A young man walked up to them and hit Sehun on the back, making the omega pause what he was saying. He turned around to face the man, a smile growing on his face.

“Happy birthday, dude!” the young man greeted.

“Thanks, man! It’s good to see you, Chanyeol,” Sehun replied, grinning.

“Have a good night tonight.”

“Of course!” Sehun shook the bottle of beer in his hand causing Chanyeol to laugh. With a hug, Chanyeol walked off towards the kitchen. Sehun turned back to Kyungsoo and Jongin, taking another swig of his third beer that night.

“Sehun, it’s going to be fine,” Kyungsoo tried reassuring him.

“Maybe you should be worrying about how much you’re drinking,” Jongin warned, reaching to pull Sehun’s bottle away from him.

Sehun rolled his eyes and took another sip of his beer, hoping it would calm his nerves. “What if I don’t like whoever it is?”

Jongin put a supportive had on Sehun’s shoulder. “You’re going to like them. That’s kind of the point of having a mate. You like them.”

“But…”

“Just because they aren’t Baekhyun does not mean they aren’t perfect for you,” Kyungsoo added. “Have a little faith, okay?”

Sehun took another swig of his beer and nodded. “I just – “

 

Sehun’s whole body tensed as the most delicious smell invaded his lungs, burning him from the inside out. He in a breath and his eyes widened, his pupils dilating at the smell of sandalwood and spice growing stronger. He lifted his head and sniffed the air, his legs almost giving way at how strong the scent was, how incredible it was. The beer bottle in Sehun’s hand fell to the tiled floor, shattering all over, as Sehun bent over, clutching at his chest, his heart beating loudly in his ears. He could hear someone talking to him but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. Sehun felt like his chest was on fire and his heart only beat faster and louder as the amazing scent got stronger. He felt a hand on his shoulder but he didn’t have the strength to look up to see who it was.

 

“Sehun! What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Sehun heard Jongin shouting but he didn’t have it in him to respond.

 

Sehun took quick breaths, trying to calm his heart and breathe through the burning feeling in his chest, not registering the arm that curled around his waist. The omega naturally leaned into the person, his nose finding its way to the crook of the person’s neck. Sehun breathed in the person’s scent and whimpered, knowing he had found the source of that delicious smell. He tried to bring himself as close as possible to the smell, his cheek nuzzling the person’s shoulder. Sehun let out soft whimpers, wishing he could live in this scent forever. The scent was helping to ease the burning in his chest and he felt his heart rate slow down.

 

“It’s okay, guys. I’ve got him,” Sehun heard a familiar voice say, but he didn’t care who it was. He just wanted to hold onto this person and follow their scent wherever they went. The person started pulling him away from his friends and he was happy to follow.

 

 

 

 

“Breathe, Sehun, breathe slowly,” Baekhyun encouraged, setting Sehun down on one of the lawn chairs in the middle of the backyard, but Sehun wouldn’t let go of him. “Come on, omega, I need you to breathe.”

Sehun whined and shook his head. “Alpha…”

 

Baekhyun in a sharp breath and pushed himself away from Sehun, taking a step back from the omega. Sehun whined and pouted at the loss of feeling the alpha close and losing the smell he seemed to have grown attached to so quickly. Baekhyun took a few steps back to give Sehun the chance to clear the haze in his head.

“Deep breaths, Sehun,” Baekhyun reminded again, happy to see Sehun close his eyes and take slow deep breaths. Sehun’s hand was still gripping tightly to his shirt over his heart but his grip seemed to loosen as he gained his bearings. “That’s it. Good boy.”

Sehun opened his eyes at hearing Baekhyun’s voice and stood up abruptly, taking further steps away from him, scowling at the alpha who only looked at Sehun with concern. Baekhyun lifted an arm to reach out to Sehun.

“Don’t touch me,” Sehun spat out.

Baekhyun frowned and dropped his arm to his side.

Sehun turned around and started pacing back and forth for what felt like several minutes before turning around to face Baekhyun. “How long?”

Baekhyun took a hesitant step closer to Sehun only to have Sehun tense and take a step back.

“Don’t, .”

“Please,” Baekhyun begged, sounding desperate.

“How ing long?” Sehun repeated, eyebrows furrowing and lips pulled tight.

Baekhyun sighed. “Since my coming-of-age.”

“What the actual , Baekhyun? You hid this from me for three years?!” Sehun clenched his hands into fists.

“I’m sorry, Sehun. I wanted to wait for you to find out,” Baekhyun explained, moving closer to Sehun.

Sehun dug the heels of his palms against his closed eyes and groaned. “You don’t even know how hard this has been for me.”

“I… I do know,” Baekhyun said softly, taking two steps closer to Sehun.

Sehun lifts his head and looks at the alpha. “What do you mean you know?” Sehun dropped his arms when the realisation hit him and sent Baekhyun a glare. “You know about my feelings.”

Baekhyun nodded. Sehun groaned again, running a hand over his face. He noticed Baekhyun taking another step towards him and growled at the alpha.

“Don’t you ing dare. Your scent is making me want to jump your bones but I’m so pissed at you right now.”

“I’m so sorry, Sehun.”

“I don’t care about your goddamn apologies. I was trying so hard to get over you.”

“I really am sorry. This has been hard for me too.”

Sehun scoffed and folded his arms across his chest. “Don’t ing make this about you.”

Baekhyun bit on his bottom lip and rubbed the back of his neck, mumbling another soft apology.

“You just… You could have told me I was your mate,” Sehun said, his voice softening.

“I know. I just didn’t expect you to be so angry when you found out.”

Sehun rolled his eyes. “How in the world did you expect me to react?”

“Well, I was kind of hoping you would be… happy.”

Sehun threw up his arms and groaned in frustration. “Of course, I’m happy! I just really want to punch you in the face for lying to me this whole ing time.”

Baekhyun smiled and shrugged. “If it will make you feel better, go right ahead.”

 

Sehun looked at Baekhyun longingly, biting his bottom lip, before sighing and closing the distance between them. He lifted his hand, Baekhyun flinching just slightly at the gesture before relaxing when he realised that the omega had no intent to hurt him. Sehun caressed the alpha’s cheek with his thumb before hitting his cheek lightly.

“Your face is too pretty to hurt,” Sehun commented, smiling softly.

Baekhyun smiled in return and reached a hand up to move a few strands of Sehun’s hair out of his eyes. “I didn’t want you to find out this way.”

“How else did you expect me to find out?”

“I don’t know, but I was hoping for something more romantic.”

Sehun let out a small laugh and Baekhyun could only smile wider, seeing his mate happy.

“So… does this mean you’ll forgive me?” Baekhyun asked quietly, still unsure if Sehun was still angry.

“You’re lucky you’re pretty,” Sehun said again and Baekhyun blushed.

 

The alpha grinned and wrapped his arms around Sehun’s waist, pulling him against his body. Sehun dropped his head onto Baekhyun’s shoulder, his arms finding their way around Baekhyun’s waist, his nose in the perfect spot to breathe Baekhyun in. He took a deep breath, letting the sandalwood and spice invade his lungs again, this time not burning him from the inside out, and sighed in bliss. Baekhyun smelt like warmth and home and love and everything felt right in the world.

 

“I’ve been in love with you for so long,” Sehun mumbled, taking another whiff of the alpha’s scent.

“I know,” Baekhyun replied, carding his fingers through Sehun’s hair, earning himself a soft whine from the omega.

“You love me too, right?”

“I do.”

Sehun hummed and tightened his arms around Baekhyun’s waist, smiling against his neck.

“So… Can I claim you now?” Baekhyun asked, hesitantly.

Sehun lifted his head and pushed himself back just a little to look at pointedly at the alpha, raising an eyebrow. “Really? That’s how you’re going to ask me?”

Baekhyun shrugged. “I thought the declarations of love were romantic enough.”

Sehun rolled his eyes. “You’re an idiot.”

“Yeah, but I’m your idiot,” Baekhyun said, smirking.

Sehun scoffed and threw his head back, letting out a laugh. “I can’t believe you just said that!”

Baekhyun laughed and leaned forward, pecking Sehun’s lips, only to have Sehun roll his eyes again.

“You know, one of these days you’re going to roll your eyes all the way into the back of your head.”

“Whatever,” Sehun said, dismissively. “Alright, let’s get this over and done with.”

“Now, look who’s being unromantic?” Baekhyun quipped, raising an eyebrow.

“Hurry up and bite me already,” Sehun complained, placing his hand on the back of Baekhyun’s neck, pushing his head forward to his neck. Baekhyun leaned into the junction of Sehun’s neck, taking a few minutes to breathe in the omega’s scent as his canines elongated. Sehun tried to calm his heart as he felt the alpha drag his teeth down his neck.

“Sorry if this hurts,” the omega hears the alpha whisper before a gasps leaves his lips as Baekhyun’s teeth puncture his skin and a sharp, searing pain is burning on the side of neck.

 

And then that’s when he feels it.

 

Sehun feels the bond enter him and take over his body in a way he had never experience before. He could feel and hear Baekhyun’s heartbeat as if it were his own. He could feel Baekhyun’s emotions of nervousness, excitement and love as if they were his own. He could feel Baekhyun around him and inside him, enveloping him and taking over him. Baekhyun was everywhere and it was so overwhelming, but it felt so right. It felt like it was meant to be. It felt like home.

 

Sehun’s fingers gripped tightly to the back of Baekhyun’s shirt, whimpering as he felt some of himself come back. But Baekhyun was still there, in the back of his mind and in his heart. He could feel Baekhyun inside him and all Sehun could do was sigh in bliss. He let out another whimper as Baekhyun pulled back, up the small amount of blood that came from the bite as the skin over the bite naturally closed up and left a now-permanent scar. Baekhyun cupped the omega’s face in his hands, placing a soft kiss on Sehun’s forehead.

 

“Mine,” Baekhyun declared, his lips brushing just softly against Sehun’s lips.

 

Sehun could only smile and leaned in, pressing his lips against Baekhyun’s and pulling the alpha closer.

 

Mine, Sehun thought.