Archive of Our Own

Minho is about to either become the biggest Karen this side of the country or kill himself by throwing his worn out body out of the window. He's on the second story of his victorian house, it might not do the job but it's worth a try.

The fucking kids accross the street are having yet another party. Fourth one this week. The smell of weed and vomit carries over with every single breeze. He leans over his crowded desk and closes the window, muting the god awful trap playlist that's been looping for the past half an hour.

He feels fucking old. Especially as he gets up and his back cracks into the quiet of the room. The clock tells him he's way past lunch time, nearing dinner really, and he realizes the void he's been feeling was probably hunger and not yet another episode of some sorts. Depression or burnout, flip a coin.

"Shit."

His shoulders and lower back are sore from sitting down all day, typing in reports and numbers and reports of numbers and a number of reports. He sways a little and thumps his chest, the flare of heartburn popping up unexpectedly. His right wrist hurts when he moves it and he thinks he still sees lines behind his eyelids whenever he closes his eyes.

To hell with his stupid ass boss and his company. He's been overworked to the bone for the past month due to some unforeseen 'changes'. Fifteen people have been cut out of nowhere and now he does the job of three.

At this point he doesn't know what his position entails. Is he still an accountant? A secretary? An assistant? He's been doing so much shit lately.

He drags a hand over his face and cringes at how oily it is. When's the last time he washed it? Long enough, he thinks. Food first though.

He massages his neck and shuffles downstairs, turning on the lights and checking for any mail while he's up and walking around. Two ham and tomato sandwiches later and an oversized cup of instant coffee he feels slightly less like a piece of decomposing furniture and more like the proud independent omega he is.

That last thought makes him snort and walk to his fridge, crossing yet another day of the calendar, the circled '20' staring right back at him. Right, he has yet to request a heat leave from work. He has a feeling that won't go so well this time.

"Independent omega my ass."

The vibration of his countertop pulls him out of his thoughts. The music has doubled in volume and now he can physically see the way his windows thrum from the bass of it. What type of speakers even do that?

His house was, surprisingly, cheaper to live in than most of its size and position. It sits fifteen minutes away from the nearest bustling city center, in a weird mix of a suburban area of row houses, a few niche small businesses and two big parks that flowed into the thick tall forests nearby. It was nearly perfect. Until, a week after moving, he noticed that all the houses on the opposite side of the road were frat and sorority houses. That's fine. He was a college-goer once.

Things would be fine.

Except he has not felt a crumb of peace in all his weeks living here, not one. Didn't these kids have exams? Lessons to go to? His windows have not been open for more than one hour at a time due to how incredibly noisy it was outside. He's used to the white noise of traffic and angry nine to fivers, not this.

Does he call the police? Is there any fucking point to doing it when his neighbors have long since given up? The police stopped showing up ten calls in, claiming there's really nothing they can do.

Minho feels like a boomer. Never would he have thought that his thirties would feel like this. Like he hasn't grown at all except in bone fragility and pain intolerance. Really, what the fuck was up with his body? He dances at least fourteen hours a week, getting up shouldn't feel like he's getting reanimated back from the dead every single time.

He's scrubbing himself clean, breathing in the steam and letting it unclog his mildly stuffy nose. Was it allergies or was he getting sick again? God he hoped it wasn't the latter.
He does his extensive skin care routine and runs keratin oiled fingers through his hair, a bit overgrown, and dries it half heartedly. He's a big boy, he can do this. All in the name of better sleep.

Throwing on a pair of his old yoga shorts and a stretched out hoodie he braves the outside world for the first time today. Trash in one hand and keys in the other, he stops and lets the evening breeze wash over him. The sun is about to set. The kids across the street switched to some type of house music now. Less irritating but just as fucking unwelcome on a monday evening. He doesn't remember college being like this but he was also not a part of any type of community or fraternity.

He throws the trash out and wrinkles his nose as he crosses the road and side steps someone's digested dinner. He almost loses a croc in a sticky patch on the stairs. Is it too late to go back?

The door swings open and a girl stumbles out, almost falling over until one of her just as drunk besties pulls her back up. They don't even notice him as they waddle away. Looks like the party is winding down. Good.

A curly haired head peeks out from behind the door, obviously out of it, eyes landing on Minho. Is he high?

He knows he looks very out of place and it's very obvious to the guy, who straightens up and opens the door some more.

"Um, can I help you?"

The guy has the tiniest of lisps and the cutest nose Minho's seen yet. And his shirt keeps flapping open in the cool breeze. Minho and his eyes do not stray anywhere below his face.

"Yes, you can. Drop the volume or I'm calling the police."

Minho's deadpan face and harsh words apparently shock the dude out of his confusion and fake polite smile. He watches as he tries to very subtly sniff the air, eyebrows furrowing. He doesn't look angry or annoyed, but his face morphs into something that grinds Minho's gears.

"Oh really? It's only like six, we're not keeping anybody up right now."

Minho's mouth pulls into a straight line and he takes a menacing step towards the guy in all his yoga mom attire. His eyes are murderous, glinting with unspoken intent. The guy swallows and leans back, throwing a few worried glances behind himself, but doesn't step away. Minho snorts. How typical of a baby alpha to talk big and shit his pants right after.

"I will invite myself in and piss all over your precious music equipment. Judging by the quality of it, it sounds pretty expensive. I've done worse, don't tempt me."

The guy steps forward, opening the door a bit more while watching Minho with a careful and somewhat wary expression. The right corner of his mouth twitches, either from amusement or annoyance. A win is a win.

"That's nasty dude. Whatever. I'll turn it down a bit just don't try anything weird."

Minho smiles, innocent and kitten-like, before he curtsies and waddles back to his own house. He hears some muttering and a door shutting behind him before the volume of the music dims down quite a bit.

In the next hour several people file out of the cursed frat house, displeased, and Minho watches from the floor of his living room, smug, while he does his nightly yoga stretches.






His heat is a day early. Or at least it will be, judging by the early symptoms and all. He's talking with his boss on the phone, pressed between his ear and shoulder, while carrying four bags of supplies in his hands. He's sweating profusely already, wearing a flimsy oversized shirt and shorts too short for the weather outside.

With no car yet, the usual fifteen minute trip to the local mart took him an entire hour, the dizziness and fever making everything slower and more dreamlike. Reading labels while your head is pounding with fever and bright fluorescent store lights hover over you menacingly is a nightmare.

He's also pretty sure he bought things he wasn't supposed to just because they looked nice and shiny and his inner omega preened when he held them. He eyes the reflection of a new stainless steel pan in one of the bags and sighs.


"-I understand. Yes of course."


The fucking hag won't put out. Minho is about to curse her out and quit on the spot, but the reminder that he still needs a steady income and a car silences him.

"Ma'am there's no way I could have predicted my heat coming a day early. Yes I know- I've read the contract thousands of times and I know that requesting the heat leave to be moved by a single day is not breaking any of the clauses included. No- Yes of course, my apologies."

He makes his voice as fake and sweet as possible. His hands hurt where the bags dig into them, heavy. He's ten minutes away from home when his boss finally mumbles an approval, hesitant and almost condescending but Minho couldn't give less of a shit. The bags started slipping out of his damp hands five minutes ago.

"Thank you, have a nice week."

The phone slips on the sweat gathered between it and his cheek and he just stands there, watching as it falls onto the pavement and the screen cracks.

He blinks, then blinks again, a minute away from throwing his grocery bags and screaming at the top of his lungs just to let out the frustration that's been building inside ever since he woke up with a tummy ache. Hurried steps pull him out of his unhealthy fantasies of equally unhealthy coping mechanisms.

"Hey, do you need any help?"

First thing that hits him is the intense stench of a sweaty alpha, pheromones leaking everywhere like spilled scented oils. It's so strong he wrinkles his nose and his eyes water. At least it smells nice, above all else.
He turns towards the source and is met with the brightest grin, blondest hair, and a cluster of freckles. The alpha smiles and bends down, gently picking up Minho's phone and slipping it into one of his grocery bags, before taking all four of them off of Minho's bruised hands.

"Oh no, you don't have to. I live a few houses down."

The alpha grins, the smile and his hair literally making him glow in the afternoon sun. He looks electric.

"Oh! I live a few houses down as well! And it's okay I don't mind helping, you look a bit exhausted, no offense. I'm Felix by the way! I think we're neighbors!"

Minho has never had to deal with this much enthusiasm on a humid spring afternoon. The wind blows through Felix's hair and his scent attacks Minho again. He coughs into a fist and gives the alpha a tight lipped smile, displeased to see just how unaware the other is of his own body and its surroundings. It feels like he got lost in an orchard, the scent of apples and something floral tickling the inside of his brain.

"I’m Minho. Thank you for helping me out, much appreciated."

His words are stilted and clipped but the alpha is seemingly as oblivious as they come, grinning from ear to ear, dark brown eyes twinkling in the rays that spill between the trees lining their path. Pause. No way is his damn heat brain romanticizing this casual meet-help with a stranger. No fucking way.

"Hm! Always happy to help! Are you new here? I haven't seen you around at all, sorry."

Minho feels almost endeared by the way the alpha- Felix, curls into himself, as if it's his fault Minho is a void critter hiding from the sun with any chance he can get. His own skin reflects back ninety nine percent of the outside light and he sees Felix glance at his bare arms a few times, with his own gorgeous tan and sprinkled freckles sucking up the sun like a sponge. Some people really just glow like that, huh? Wow.

"I don't really go out much. Don't think we would've crossed paths."

Felix tilts his head and pouts. Minho thinks he's using every single brain cell by the looks of it, and feels a little mean right after. Strange, he's rarely felt empathy for any alpha ever.

"Oh but I haven't seen you on campus either!"

Minho's steps falter and he stares at Felix, who also stops, confused. Minho blinks a few times, his own reset button per se, before he laughs, his usual string of five hearty ‘haha's’ with a little ‘haa..’ at the end. When he focuses back on the alpha he sees him smiling, confused, but very much focused on Minho. If Minho allowed kindness into his life he'd say Felix looked almost hopeful.

"Sorry. I wasn't laughing at you. It's just that I haven't stepped foot on a college campus in years."

Felix's face falls and he visibly loses his spark, a blush bringing his freckles out even more so.

"Oh! I'm so sorry I thought you were like- my age or something. I didn't mean to come off rude or anything!-"

Minho picks up pace again and waves Felix off. So, a sweaty alpha wearing gym clothes that lives on his street and is of college age. Minho has a funny not so funny inkling about where this neighbor lives.

"I’m pretty sure going to uni has no age limit, but I'll be honest, somebody thinking I'm in my early twenties is a hell of an ego boost."

He sees the alpha stumble in his periphery and extends an arm out almost instinctually, to catch him. Felix just looks embarrassed, smiling shyly as the red on his cheeks flows down to his neck. Minho stomps on the warm feeling blossoming inside his chest, knowing very well his instincts are just fragile and volatile with the rapidly approaching heat.

"Wait, but like, how old are you?"

Minho squints and winces, making a big show of sighing and shaking his head in disappointment.

"And I thought alphas knew not to ask an omega their age."

Minho slows down once they reach his house, chuckling as Felix falls into another embarrassed fit, apologizing and waving his arms around, bags clanking noisily against each other. He's pretty sure all of his eggs are smashed by now but whatever, he'll let the funny alpha be.

"I'm joking. Breathe Felix. We're here by the way."

The younger one looks at his house then looks behind them across the road, making an aborted choking noise.

"Oh!"

Minho takes the bags from him and snorts. His inkling was right afterall. That's definitely one of his favorite college frat boys that will end up getting tinnitus by thirty.

"You're the- He said you- You're that neighbor?"

Minho decides to put him out of his misery and turns away, laughing. He stops to unlock his door and turns back around one last time, looking over his shoulder.

"Tell curly hair to keep it down for a week. I'm on my heat leave and I don't wanna hear and smell teenagers fucking around. Thank you again Felix, it was nice meeting you."

Felix is still standing there, eyes wide and cheeks red, as Minho pushes the door open.

"Oh and I'm thirty five!"

The door closes with a resounding slam.







He's delirious through most of his heat but it ends as they all do, wet, clammy and disappointing. Painkillers and a floppy old silicone friend can only do so much. He's not ashamed to admit that at some point, two or so days in, after a bite of apple, somebody flashed in his mind. Minho had never rubbed one out based on scent alone but firsts can happen at any age apparently.


He's freshly showered, fluffy and tired from barely getting any sleep for days, as he pitter patters around the house getting things right. He cleans up, cooks and finishes by picking up the clothes he hung to dry outside. The world around him finally settles in and he realizes it's quiet. It's been quiet the whole week and it clicks in that Felix must've put in an extra word for him.

He groans when he feels himself warm up and curses quietly.

"Blushing at your big fucking age.. Lee Minho.."

The clothes are heavy and the grip he has on the laundry basket reminds him of just how truly tired he is, arms shaking under the weight of it. His back door is old and wide enough for one person, but not wide enough for him and his basket, so, he steadies himself for an around-the-house trip and then an up-the-steps walk when there's a commotion nearby.

A car stops a few feet away from him with an excited Felix driving it. Minho wants to drop down and pretend he's just one with the pile of clothes. Maybe Felix would pass by and not notice. He's very unnoticeable afterall, it's one of his best achievements.

"Hi Minho! Oh my god you look like you're gonna drop that- Bin go help him!"

The passenger door opens and Minho has to dig his heels into the soft overgrown grass under his feet. He doesn't even realize that Felix drove off to park, eyes on the creature in front of him. The guy looks fucking massive, with arms the size of Minho's legs. He's slightly intimidated when he realizes it's another alpha.

"It's okay actually, you don't have to help me- uhh.."

"Ah, I'm Changbin! Hi, Minho, right? It's okay I don't mind helping, that looks heavy and you look a bit out of breath."

The guy chuckles and slips his arms around the basket, breaking eye contact when their hands touch. Minho let's go and nods, clapping once to break whatever weird tension just settled over them. He waddles to the front door, ears red.

"You can just leave this here, it's fine."

Changbin looks unperturbed by the weight he's carrying and Minho is still very much freshly post heat. His eyes linger on the swell of the man's upper arms as he opens the door and hopes that the mound of clothes in the basket is big enough to hide his wandering gaze from Changbin.

"Nonsense, I'm not letting you carry this up the steps. Where's your laundry room?"

Minho just waves a hand to the white door adjacent to the main entrance, a mud room, cleaning closet and laundry all in one. Changbin pushes the door open with his elbow and sets the basket down. Minho feels a little like a stranger in his own house as he slowly takes off his shoes and paddles inside, the front door closing softly behind with a click.

"I guess I'll- uhh-" Changbin points to the door and smiles awkwardly, tugging at the arms of his shirt. The omega might be a bit too spicy and straightforward usually but he has manners. Sometimes.

"Wait! I have something. Wait here please."

Minho runs to the kitchen and picks up one of the still warm lasagna casseroles he cooked earlier, covering it with foil and wrapping it into a kitty kitchen towel. He's careful on his way back and hands it to a fidgeting Changbin.

"This is for uh, the other day when Felix helped, and today, and this week in general, for keeping it down. Thanks, I guess."

His ears are red and he feels jumpy and embarrassed for no fucking reason. He's never cooked for anyone before, or had anyone eat his food. It's a bit nerve wracking.

"Oh! Oh wow Minho that's- You cooked this? I mean of course you did, sorry. Um. Wow, thank you. This smells incredible. The guys are gonna tear this up the moment I'm home. If you ever need anything just hit me up yeah? Or any of us really, I wouldn't mind helping you again."

Changbin's smile is warm and dimpled but his eyes hold something that’s long-lost its familiarity to Minho, the light scent of sweet figs drifting towards him, and it immediately puts him in a fight or flight mode for a very brief moment. He just nods, does his usual polite little smile and watches Changbin's back as he leaves.

What a weird interaction. Minho's social skills are as rusty as they have been for the past fifteen years it seems like.

His chest feels a bit open too, fluttery. He's excited to run into one of them again just to ask if they liked his food and that feels almost childish, this new feeling of giddiness. He breathes in and out and slices himself a piece from the smaller casserole, trying to ignore the fact that he subconsciously gave Changbin the bigger one. He blames it on being in a hurry, of course.










Thursday evening, he's not as giddy. The guys apparently decided two weeks without a party was unacceptable.

Minho is having a self care bath, or is trying to, the music accross the street penetrating walls and muffling every other sound around him, breaking his zen or whatever the fuck that's called.

The show he'd chosen to watch is a whisper compared to it. He can't believe he let his guard down enough to start looking forward to seeing his peculiar neighbors when here they are being the bane of his bleak existence. He closes his laptop and gets out of the bath, limbs heavy.

He throws on a pair of shorts and an oversized shirt, rubbing his hair until it's mostly dry, before slipping his feet into his favorite pair of crocs, pink with cat charms, and heading out.

The keys leave indents in the palm of his hand with how hard he grips them. It feels almost illegal to be back here, in front of his neighbors' house, after having met at least some of them. His heart feels like it's gonna burst out of his chest. Why is he so fucking nervous?

He doesn't even manage to lift his hand to knock when the door swings open, revealing a pair of dark round eyes and a pair of cheeks to die for.

"Guys pizza is- Oh, hi? You're not the pizza guy."

Minho blinks, settles his weight on one foot and huffs.

"I'm not but I'm about to deliver some damage if you don't turn the music down. Where's the curly haired one? We've been through this before."

The guy just keeps staring at him, mouth half open into a smirk.

"Oh so you're the omega they've been talking about. You're hotter than I thought."

This catches him so off-guard he almost loses his footing. The shirt and shorts he's wearing now feel see through, as do his bones. The guy is still fucking staring. What's his problem?

"What?"

"The others keep t-"

Somebody wraps an arm around the guy's waist from behind and drags him back, his yelps getting muffled by the music, almost comically so. A head of blonde hair forces its way through instead.

"Minho! Hi!! I haven't seen you in days!"

What in god's name is going on? Did Minho interrupt something?

"Hi..? Listen, I already asked the other one-"

"Jisungie!"

Minho eyes Felix, pointedly, before nodding.

"Right, I asked Jisungie to turn the music down."

He sees Felix's body slump and eyes dim a bit at the lack of excitement coming from the omega and he feels bad. Upsetting Felix feels wrong. Minho's mouth keeps moving.

"I came home from work not even an hour ago, I just need some peace, you know? Can't y'all just party on fridays like normal people do? Or at least have the music a bit, y'know, quieter? Not all of us are in our twenties."

Felix rubs the back of his neck and giggles.

"Oh I just, I always forget you're not on the same schedule as us. I apologize for the inconvenience. I'll ask Channie to turn it down, you know Channie right? He said you two met the first time you came by!"

Ah, Channie, the curly haired one.

"Yeah, and apparently he likes testing my patience."

Felix laughs, a bit too hard, gripping the door and leaning into it. There's voices coming from behind him and Minho tries to make out if he recognizes any of them. He sees the blinds in the window in his peripheral vision move and turns to look. A hand disappears behind fluttering blinds.

"I think he just liked seeing you mad, he keeps asking about you. All the guys do actually! I think we should make amends between our .. households? I also wanna pay you back for the lasagna! Oh my god it was so good. Did you make it yourself?"

Minho watches Felix light up the more he talks and just lets him, a tiny bit endeared and weak for the megawatt smile aimed his way.

"I, yeah I made it myself. I mean I live alone, so who else?"

Felix sobbers up and watches him with wide glinting eyes.

"You live alone? Like, you're not, y'know?"

The blinds move again and Minho resists the urge to turn and catch whoever's taking peeks at him in the act. He's done embarrassing guys ten years younger than him today.

"I'm not what? Wedded, bedded with three kids? Do I look like a housewife to you?"

The question is in jest, and Minho laughs until he notices the way Felix drags his eyes up from whatever lower part of his body they were fixed on.

"No! I mean, that house is pretty big for one person and I assumed, y'know, because- you're so pretty, I thought you'd have a partner or-"

Pretty?

Minho's brain slams the brake into a sudden stop, the metaphorical traffic lights above him glaring a blinding red. Red that bleeds to his ears and neck. He bites his lower lip, barely catching a little shy smile from getting out. Felix realizes what he's said and waves both of his hands in front of him, either warding Minho off or trying to explain himself.

"Oh god, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I tend to just talk out of my ass whenever an- uhh- I'm really sorry Minho-"

The omega is hit with a wall of sour apples and distress. He likes joking around, likes watching alphas lose their confidence and scramble for words, but not this time.

"Thank you. I don't think that adjective was right for me but it's still appreciated."

Minho offers up a small smile and Felix's hands and shoulders drop at once, a big shaky sigh making its way out of him. He watches the younger fish for words, eyes flicking this and that way as he struggles to say his thoughts out loud and takes pity on him.

"Right, well, it was nice talking to you. Keep the music down or next time I'm coming over with my bat. Reach out to me whenever you wanna 'make amends between our households'".

He takes a step back and risks a glance towards the peeping tom from the left window. A guy with shoulder length hair gasps and disappears from sight, leaving Minho to chuckle. God they're all like a bunch of kids.

Felix seems to think as much, cringing and banging his forehead on the door.

"Sorry they're just excited to meet you. Wait, did you mean that? Like, meeting up?"

Minho feels like he'll regret agreeing to spending time with a bunch of twenty something year olds but whatever, his walls are down and the wine he drank earlier is making everything fuzzier, softer.

He nods and watches Felix light back up like a Christmas tree. How can an alpha be this cute?

"It's a date then! I'll come by after talking to the guys to make sure we, and you, are free and all that. See you Minho! Have a nice rest of the day!"

Minho turns around to hide the growing smile on his face and waves a hand without looking back.

The music still thrums in the background of his evening but it's some lofi stuff that gets him even more in the mood. He's relaxed and sleepy and that feeling of his stomach constricting inside him is back.

Minho sighs, turning on his back to stare at the ugly popcorn ceiling he has yet to tackle. He counts the little 'kernels' and thinks of the young guys across the street, who, for some fucking reason, find Minho interesting enough to reach out to, to seek.

It's a refreshing feeling after ten years in repetitive corporate hell. He has two friends but they're back in the city where he grew up in. They see each other three times a year whenever Minho visits his relatives. But here? He has acquaintances only, people he's met at work and a few of his elderly neighbors, maybe even the cashier at his favorite store.

It feels nice to be sought out as a human, to be helped and thought of. Remembered. Minho doesn't want to think about how it's much harder to push back against Felix, or Changbin or even the other two he's briefly met, than it is to push back against most alphas, most other people he's met before.

He's not a self sabotager and yet he guards himself tightly, so that no one could hurt him whenever his walls are down. Is he changing? Is he just aging? But he feels younger than ever. Scratch that, he feels young but also incredibly old, jaded by this world.

He falls asleep thinking of the stupid little frat house whose walls hold a few people he'd like to keep around himself, if just for a bit.







Next day Minho comes home three hours later than usual, his boss having held all of them up because of a stupid mishap made by an intern. He's tired and his legs ache. The bus he usually takes was full at this hour and he had to stand for the entire ride home.

The sun is almost completely all the way set, leaving the sky a delicate mix of dark blues, purples and a fading orange on the horizon. He can't wait to defrost some lasagna and eat it while he rewatches game of thrones for the nth time.

He's at the foot of his steps when he notices a little vase of flowers propped up against his door.

Huh?

He picks them up, gently. The vase is glass, and when he traces the shimmery flowery design on top he realizes it's also hand painted, some of the designs leaving a shimmer on the tip of his fingers. The flowers are freshly picked too, he knows where these particular small purple ones grow and how fast they wilt. He looks around before pressing his face to the flowers and letting a soft smile bloom with them.

Somebody brought him flowers, and a vase. Somebody probably took time to paint this and then pick flowers that matched the designs on the vase. He stares at the mix of green, white and purple with a tight heart. He swallows the knot in his throat down, feeling a little overwhelmed from something so thoughtful. He has never gotten flowers before.

There's no one else who he met recently who also knows where he lives, other than the house across the street of course.

He sets the vase in the middle of his round dining table and turns it this and that way, giddy with something he doesn't wanna touch with a ten foot pole with right now. A flash of pink catches his eyes and he digs it out carefully from the middle of the little bouquet. A note.

“I'm sorry if this comes off as a bit creepy, but I was taking one of my daily walks and noticed these flowers, then some other ones and then I got carried away. I picked them because they were pretty, and then I painted a vase for them because I wanted to give them to someone prettier. We haven't met yet and I only had the chance to see you from the side but I haven't stopped thinking of you. Felix says I'll scare you away but you look strong and unbothered and I think you might find this amusing more than anything. He also says you should come over this Sunday for a little movie night, around six or so, no need to bring anything. Take these flowers inside and we'll take it as a yes. Hope I've made your day a little better.”

Minho pins the note to his fridge, heart in his stomach, noticing how well it fits with his cat magnets and postcards. These fucking college frat boys. He presses a hand to his chest and heads upstairs.










Come Sunday five in the evening and he is ready to start cleaning his entire house just to calm down his nerves. This is a simple neighbors' get-together. Why is he so fucking nervous? He's pretty sure he has beef with two of the people that live in that house and a strange tension with the other two. Wait how many more of them are there?

He hangs his towels to dry, having taken an 'everything' bath earlier. Don't ask him why he shaved every single part of his body either, he wouldn't be able to come up with an actual answer other than 'just in case'. Just in case what, Lee Minho? This is so stupid.

He flops down on his back on top of all the clothes he covered the bed with and closes his eyes. Why is people-ing so hard? He needs to make an impression while also remaining as casual as possible, in case any of them think he's trying too hard or something. But also he cannot show up being too casual or they'll think he's a thirty five year old slob with no life.

He chooses comfort above all else in the end, going with a pair of high wasted baby pink dolphin shorts, a white fuzzy hoodie with paw prints all over it and a matching pair of fuzzy socks. He looks decent, his hair soft and body smelling nice.

He hesitates and walks back to his desk, pulling out a brown eyeliner and some latte toned shimmery eyeshadow. He finishes up and then dabs a faint red tint to the inside of his lips, smoking it out until it looks natural. He applies some of his cherry flavored lip balm on top and heads to the front door before he chickens out.

Holding a freshly baked nacho dish in one hand and a case of high quality beer in the other, he’d shoved his phone and keys in the pocket of his hoodie. There's no way he'd show up empty handed to a house of college dudes. He remembers every single time one of his college roommates would come back from the holidays with homemade food. He swore to be that person one day.


The door opens while he's walking up the little path to their house, a lanky boyish guy holds the door closed behind him, keeping whomever's banging on the door inside the house. His eyes are innocent but his laugh is mischievous as he blocks the door with his body. The scent that clings to the boy soothes Minho, reminding him of his own late omega father.

"Hi."

Minho carefully steps up to the porch and smiles politely, clearing his throat.

"Hi."

The guy looks him up and down and then tilts his head to the side, reminding Minho of a puppy. He smells of flowers and peaches and Minho is a bit flustered to realize he'd mistakenly thought of him as an omega when the musky undertone of his scent fully hits him.

The faintly pointed canines that peek out when the guy smiles act as a confirmation as well. How so many alphas co-exist with one another in the same space is beyond him, but he's not one to judge one's character based on their statuses. Or, well, he usually isn't.

"I don't think I can watch the movie from here if we're gonna sit and stare at each other."

The guy laughs and points a finger at Minho, doing a great job at being normal while holding the door closed for the person fighting for their life on the other side of the door.

"Oh I like you already. I'm Seungmin. The feral one trying to break the door is Jeongin. We made a bet on which one of us will get to meet you first."

"And you cheated."

Seungmin nods with a grand sense of pride and accomplishment.

"Yep. Come on in, Minho."

He steps aside and the door swings open, a disheveled guy with the most gorgeous cheekbones plowing through and grabbing Seungmin tightly by the biceps. He shakes Seungmin until a flustered Felix breaks them apart, red cheeked and apologetic. Minho is having the time of his life already.

Jeongin runs a hand through his messy hair and stops when he realizes that Minho is there too, watching the whole thing. He looks a little skittish, eyes darting from Minho's hoodie to his face.

"... I like cats too."

Felix groans, muttering something about them embarrassing him, and herds the two by the back of their shirts inside the house. He pushes them in and then turns to hold the door open for Minho, who's unable to stop chuckling at Felix's pain.

"You guys are entertaining."

"And by that you mean embarrassing."

Minho laughs and sets his pink crocs to the side, noticing how surprisingly clean the place is. A myriad of scents surround him like a blanket and he fights the little sleepy spell falling over him. Woah.

"Minho, are you okay? You started swaying a little there."

Felix takes the little casserole dish out of his hands and pushes it towards an equally concerned Seungmin. Jeongin's arm lifts up towards him as if trying to steady him. The spell lasts a few seconds and then he's slowly coming back down, cheeks a dusted pink now. He's a little warm.

"Sorry, it's just, I haven't been in an alpha's house in years."

Seungmin groans and throws his head back.

"Oh fuck, we didn't think this through. Should've used some cover-up spray before you came. I promise we didn't do this on purpose, we're just a bunch of stupidheads."

Minho waves them off, patting Felix's head when the younger one keeps giving him concerned little boba eyes. Jeongin mutters something about Felix being a simp and takes the pack of beers off of Minho's hands. He notices just how big Jeongin's hands are compared to his and flexes his fingers. He simultaneously notices that almost all of them are of the same height, give or take. Good, he's not particularly fond of looking up at people. Minimizes the intimidation factor.

"You shouldn't have. I'm pretty sure we said to bring nothing."

Seungmin nods towards the baked nachos and dip casserole, while Jeongin is already popping a can of beer open. Felix hits the back of his head, muttering 'manners' until Jeongin is out of sight, laughing.

"I'm pretty sure I make more money than all of you combined, to be frank, and I'm also sure you don't get to have homemade food that often."

Felix nods and places a little hand to the curve of his lower back, satisfying something in Minho when it settles in that Felix's hand is just as small as his own, before gently ushering him into a corridor and then through an arched doorway. His back straightens a little and the hand presses a bit closer, the heat of it felt even through his fuzzy hoodie. Okay, someone's touchy. Minho can work with that.

"Chan cooks sometimes, but like, y'know, a remixed version of ramen. We mostly order out."

"Oh you poor creatures."

They laugh and Minho does too. Their house is decent for a frat house or whatever it is. The wallpaper is strangely floral overall, with motifs of nature, in colors of warm beige, light yellows and browns with a dark wood stained floor. Cozy. They step into a huge room and his socks sink into a faux fur rug.

He's about to ask where they got it from and for how much when five other pairs of eyes turn towards him. Oh. The scents alone should've been a big indicator but Minho didn't think much of it. This is a house full of alphas and alphas only, apparently. What a way to start the night.

He reels his own scent in a bit, but it's useless with so many of them around. Them and their fucking heightened senses. He hopes he smells good enough at least with his own orange and eucalyptus scent, which often gets mistaken as a body wash because of how strong it is for an omega. Stereotypes stereotypes, blah blah.

The room they're in is more of a den, he thinks, as Felix herds everybody to their assigned seat, big and open with two couches and a few bean bag chairs, a low coffee table in the middle.

From where Minho stands he can see the archway on the left leading into a quaint little kitchen, with the one right next to it – to a dining room. This is a much better place than he first imagined it'd be. He won't even tell himself off mentally for being a judgy little bitch, it is what it is. Well, mostly.

"Nice decor."

Somebody snorts and dribles beer out of their nose, Chan, if his memory is still working. Seungmin is busy pulling his phone out to take a picture of him while Felix fusses over the fresh couch stains, whining. A huge fishing rod sits propped up on the wall above the window, and attached to its hook is a pig plushie with two x's over its eyes. Peculiar.

"That's a memorabilia of Seungmin's revenge."

Chan says, wiping his face dry while holding Seungmin in a chokehold.

"That's.. a creative way to get revenge I guess. Who's the victim?"

Changbin, who up until this point had been making googly eyes at Minho's oblivious form, lifts his hand up and huffs.

"I accidentally used his toothbrush and next thing I know sir Pigunny is hanging on the wall, dead. I've been traumatized since."

Minho giggles. A big alpha with a little plushie companion is admittedly not what he expected of Changbin's character, but it works somehow. Chan's head snaps up at the sound.

"Well, I kind of know most of your names but.."

"Oh right! Sorry, as you can see we're all uncultured pigs. You've met Felix, Changbin, Seungmin and Jeongin, yeah?"

Minho nods and flutters his fingers in an overly dainty wave towards the four, enjoying the amused smiles he pulls out of them.

"The little emo trying to get the couch to swallow him is Jisung and the pretty boy in blue is Hyunjin. And of course you've met me, in a not so pleasant way I must say."

Minho ignores Chan's remark, making him huff, and stares at each one of them, feeling a little inadequate in his comfy little getup with so many, frankly, drop dead gorgeous people in the same room as him.

He's pretty sure Jisung is the one he saw a few days ago and Hyunjin was the one peeking through blinds. He sees how little the alpha makes himself be with the way he sits, and how lovely he looks wrapped in his blue flower-patterned cardigan. He takes two guesses. One – Hyunjin definitely had a hand in decorating the place. And two.

"Thank you for the flowers and vase, Hyunjin."

The alpha all but melts into the pillow he's holding onto, his scent of rose and matcha flowing through the room. His scent is so – open, Minho can almost taste the embarrassment, worry and shyness in it. He's never met an alpha this sensible. It almost makes him wanna comfort Hyunjin like he would an omega, fuss over him until he stops smelling so spicy, the floral scent a little too heady. Luckily Felix does that for him, wrapping his arms around Hyunjin and cooing, making the other's soft cheeks bloom pink. He looks like a dumpling.

"Awww, Hyunjinie he guessed right! I knew Minho would love your gifts! I told you! You were so worried."

Hyunjin looks up, to make sure that Felix is telling the truth and his eyes melt Minho like nothing else. Not even thirty minutes here and he's already forming half bonds with alphas almost half his age. Great.

"Of course, I'm even going to press the flowers to preserve them. I think it'll look cool."

Hyunjin immediately perks up, smiling big and scrunchy, nose twitching as if he can't contain all of his emotions inside. Felix gushes over him like he's not as equally cute.

"I do that! Show me if you do! I have so many ideas on how to incorporate them in day to day objects and-"

Changbin tugs him close and plants a big wet smooch on his forehead, making everyone laugh while Hyunjin whines his way out of those big arms. Minho's looking respectfully.

"Cute, you two will get to talk about all the flowers in the world next time, let the rest of us get a slice of Minho too, hm?" Hyunjin just pouts and nods.

"I'm pretty sure Chan has an apology to give..~"

"Felix-"

"Nu uh. Say it. You know very well that the second time around you turned the music up on purpose."

Chan kicks a leg out and topples Felix over Jeongin, who just grunts and holds the blonde alpha to his chest. Felix just laughs. Minho's entertained but also a bit lost. "What? Why on purpose?"

Felix laughs harder and ignores the death stare Chan sends his way, getting real comfortable in Jeongin's lap.

"Apparently you were 'so cute' when you were mad he wanted to see you again."

"He's lying." Chan looks at Minho with a haunted expression, shaking his head. Before Minho can open his mouth and utter some self-deprecating joke about being halfway to a funeral home rather than being cute, Chan cuts him off.

"Don't trust him. He'll lure you in with his smile and freckles and then he'll use your own fears against you."

Felix blinks innocently and swings his legs, in a genius comedic timing to Chan's warning. Changbin snorts and joins in on the conversation, playing with Hyunjin's hair. Minho's looking around much more attentively now, sensing something in the way the alphas weave around each other's space. Huh. Interesting.

"Chan, all of us heard you gushing about Minho that first day he came by. You should've seen his face dude, I've never seen him so giggly before."

"Oh my god you all, shut up."

Minho watches Chan with interest, noticing how much younger the alpha seems when he isn't posturing or arguing with Minho. Talking of which.

"Okay, to get this out of the way, how old are you guys? Because if someone here is below drinking age I'm afraid I'll pass away on the spot. I cannot for the life of me be friends with people that young."

"Jeongin here is the youngest, and he's twenty two."

Minho's brain short circuits a little. Right, these are all college aged guys. God. It's not like he forgot but it feels surreal that somehow they've all decided that their cranky old neighbor was amusing enough to befriend. Are they trying to befriend him? What's the friend etiquette like now with the younger generation? Fuck, Minho's so out of the loop when it comes to social cues.

"These four are twenty three. Changbin is twenty four and I'm the oldest at twenty five. Well, not the oldest anymore since Felix told me you're not really college age, but yeah."

Felix shoots Minho a panicked look, as if waiting for him to say something, and Minho laughs when he remembers what he told the poor guy about asking an omega his age. Oh you sweet gullible thing.

"You didn't tell them how old I am?"

Seungmin turns towards him with interest. "What? Why? How old are you?"

Felix hisses and reaches over, slapping Seungmin's thigh. "Oh my god that's so rude don't ask him that."

Hyunjin breaks into maniacal laughter, slapping an equally amused and seemingly numb to the slaps Changbin. Chan's brows furrow in confusion.

"What? Who told you that?"

Felix just looks at Minho for a second then gasps, a mix of betrayal and something else on his face.

"You.. tricked me! You lied to me! Me! I can't believe this! After all the bags I helped you carry!"

"My knight." He deadpans.

"Yes. Exactly!" Felix flails, if only to make Hyunjin laugh harder.

Seungmin's eyes hold a little glint as he leans closer to Minho, the back of his hand accidentally touching Minho's thighs. He sees the alpha take an internal screenshot before he snatches his hand back. Minho pretends he didn't see that nor the flush that spreads from under Seungmin's hoodie up his neck for the sake of them both.

"So, how old are you?"

Minho is about to answer when Jeongin interrupts.

"Look at him dude. He's Chan's age or a year older at most. Bet."

He sees Chan nod in his periphery, granting him a slow onceover, very much obvious with the way his eyes stray towards Minho's thick legs. He flexes his thighs just in case, of course, innocently.

Minho reaches for a nacho and scoops some of the dip up, holding a hand under it. He wants to laugh at the situation but the room has gotten quiet. He opens his mouth, tongue first, and stuffs it full, leaning back into the couch while chewing. Fuck manners.

"I'm thirty five actually."

Chan breaks the silence first, gasping and leaning forward in his bean bag as if he got punched in the gut. What a funky little man.

Seungmin lets out a single surprised laugh, Jeongin following in his steps. Felix smiles and Changbin's eyes widen significantly. Hyunjin's mouth drops open and he looks at Minho with a completely new expression. He'd dare say reverent, if he was delusional that is.

"Holy shit? You look twenty, dude, what the hell??"

Minho's eyes stray to the lone figure in the furthest corner of the couch, catching his eyes and giggling when the guy looks away immediately, blushing.

"Oh my god how funny is that? Jisung here has a thing for dilfs!"

Jisung gasps and throws a pillow right at Jeongin's head, baring his teeth. Oh?

"We all obviously do, you annoying fuck. Stop always throwing me under the bus."



Chan busies himself with starting a movie, some basic marvel one. Minho knows close to nothing about them. On his way back to his spot Chan has to wiggle between Minho's couch and the coffee table.

His hand settles on Minho's knee as he passes by and Minho's other leg twitches. He makes brief eye contact with Changbin and catches him looking down at his legs, at the way Chan's hand wraps around the entirety of his knee.

Minho is no longer amused, his insides coiling tightly at the lightest of touches and looks. He clears his throat and focuses on the movie, letting the guys interrupt his thoughts with little stories and jokes at each other's expense.

Was Changbin jealous? Did Minho get the vibes right and figure out that their little frat house was actually just a pack house? Is he being too comfortable around these taken men? Something uncomfortable throbs under his ribs.



Despite his worries the night goes incredibly well, really. Minho had never had as much fun in the company of so many people at once. They eat and drink and laugh their way through the entire movie.

Felix begs Minho to stay a bit longer, pouting and getting down on his knees at some point. Minho laughs awkwardly, waving Felix off while Chan coos over his red ears. They play UNO, and Minho gets obliterated in it, of course, with his innate shitty luck.

But throughout all of the fun and laughter, there's an underlying thrum in the room. Like a string that gets pulled on every now and then, splitting the air with a suffocating tension, tight and ready to snap. At first Minho thought it'd been the invisible pull of their pack (?). But then, he'd felt it himself.

Minho feels it in the way Changbin sets his eyes on him when he looks away. In the way Seungmin's hand on the back of the couch almost wraps around his shoulders. In the way Jeongin smiles at him whenever somebody jokes around, almost secretive, as he passes Minho snacks and drinks, hands brushing, lingering.

He feels it whenever Chan walks in and out of his seat, brushing against Minho's bare legs. Or the way Jisung won't stop fucking staring at him like he's begging Minho for attention, big round eyes reflecting every single light in the room, a soft apple compote and cedarwood scent brushing Minho's nose every other whiff.

Minho tries and succeeds, mostly, but fails to reel his scent in whenever it involves Felix, who's apparently the touchiest one out of everyone.

He's touchy in a subtle way. Scratching Minho's chin like he would a cat's whenever the eldest giggles or gets flustered by something. Tapping the back of Minho's hand and playing with his fingers while he fiddles with the tv remote in his other hand. Minho swears that at some point during one of their UNO rounds Felix leans over and lightly scents him too, whispering to him which card to use.

His presence is a welcome annoyance, truly.

When it's time to leave, Jisung almost jumps up at the mention of Minho carrying home the empty lasagna and nacho dishes by himself, arguing that it's too heavy. Minho is tempted to pull his leg, maybe teasing him about being a big strong alpha. But he doesn't, too sleepy for that level of back and forth.

The alpha waits until he says goodbye to everyone and follows after him across the road, surprisingly quiet.

"Did you have fun?"

Minho hums and blinks, slow and catlike, a soft smile pulling his lips tight.

"Yes, actually. I feel ready to sleep though, all of you are a loud handful." He laughs when Jisung does, his voice much lower in the quiet of the night. They stop at his front door and Jisung hesitates, rubbing his hands against his sides.

"Right. Well, it was nice having you over today. Thank you for coming- and for all the food and the whole not reporting us to the police thing. I'm sorry for being a little weird the other day. I, uh, was high out of my mind and you were there."

Ah. Jisung's hands won't stop fidgeting and he'd maybe talked to Minho twice the entire evening. Minho gets it.

"It's okay. We all have our ways to unwind. You're fine."

Jisung perks up and smiles, taking a step back, then another, before waving at Minho and turning to jog back to the house. He yells a goodnight on the way, visibly much brighter than before.

Minho's eyes move from his retreating form to the little heads peeking through the pack's living room window, blinds once again pulled aside. He's pretty sure he sees Felix grab two others and pull them away by the scruff of their necks. What a special little bunch.

Minho refuses to think they're cute.










Life continues as it has. Work is shit, bearable, but shit nonetheless. His dance classes go from two hours a day to four hours every other weekend due to how intensely overworked he gets.

And nothing has changed really, but the toll of uniformity and lack of motivation piles up every single day until it's hard to do menial things he'd been able to before.

It's not depression. Not this time at least. He takes his meds, all of them, and tracks his mood in a silly little cat themed app that he downloaded just for the meowing notification sound. He's fine. Or he's as fine as he can be whilst going day by day through the same routine with no way of properly de-stressing or unwinding.

He's holding a tumbler cup and walking home from work, sucking the apple juice he spiked with vodka through a paper straw - environmentally friendly as he is, when he sees Felix crossing the street from Minho's house to his own. Strange. Did he need Minho's help or something?

Questions get answered real fast when he reaches his doorstep and finds a little picnic basket filled with cookies and flowers. No note. Nothing. The flowers are the wild purple ones in the forest nearby that he loves.

He picks it up and shrugs, already making plans to cook something for the guys as a thank you.

After a quick shower and heated up leftovers, he snacks on a few of the cookies. Did Felix bake these? The guy has some serious talent. He eats them all and then takes a food coma nap, warm and full, head a bit clearer than it's been the past week.

Maybe he does like his funky little neighbors afterall. He, once again, ignores the soft thrum of yellow running through his chest as his omega purrs into the evening. Whatever. He's just affection and attention starved.





The little gifts don't stop there. Minho sees the guys out and about sometimes, at the store, the bus station, in their front yard doing work (mostly Chan), but he never catches any of them leaving things for him to come home to after work. Usually it's fresh flowers and a little snack.

Sometimes he finds drawings, little trinkets and even a whole pj set at some point. He naturally wears it with pride.

One day he comes home to no gift but a clean front yard instead. He's never seen his house look this fancy before (nor did he know that at the base of it sat a beautiful red brick foundation that's been covered with knee-high grass ever since he moved in).

With something like fondness, he notices that whoever labored away had also left the little flower bushes intact, only trimming and giving them the treatment Minho hadn't. Not as if he knew how to do any yard work besides using a hose to water stuff anyway.

It takes him two trips outside to finally notice that someone, in the span of a few hours while he was out grocery shopping, has painted his chipping mailbox a pretty baby pink color and stuck little cat stickers all over it. His hold on the laundry basket tightens, and he's blinking fast, clearing out dust and allergies from his teary eyes. Allergies.

The gift that almost breaks him is the simplest of them all. A simple gift set he’d ogled a few times in the store he goes to so often. It's made for an omega's pre and post heat care, with everything from face masks, vitamins, muscle rollers, slick pads and body oils.

Minho takes it with a shaky inhale and slams the door shut behind him, leaning back against it once he's inside, the box pressed to his chest.

This is so stupid. So, so stupid.

He sniffles and wipes away the tears that do manage to escape, groaning when it smeares a trail of wet mascara all over the cuff of his sleeve.

Nobody has ever gifted him one of these. A heat gift set. One that's basic, cheap, given to freshly presented omegas by their parents, or to omegas in heat by their partners, or in passing by caring friends or coworkers, on any other occasion. Something he's never had before, with the early passing of his own parents and the lack of partners throughout his life.

The little gray gift feels almost fragile in his hands as he carefully unwraps it. He never bought one for himself, wondering if he deserved one. But now he has one, gifted to him, carrying so much more meaning than if he'd bought it.






Three hours later he's finishing the last of the post-cooking clean up while searching outside for the pack's cars, hoping all of them are home.

He pulls out a little crinkled note, a number, written down in a hurry by Chan when they had bumped into each other the other day. He had seemed embarrassed when, after telling Minho to call them if he ever needed anything again (aka lawn care, for which Minho stopped him in the first place to thank him for), he realized that none of them bothered to give or ask Minho for a number.


f rom: (555) 555-1234
to: Channie

Dinner at mine in half an hour
Bring all the pups
..come or I throw all the food out
- Minho

sent at 9:41PM



After a quick shower, he puts on the freshly washed pair of pjs the pack had gifted him and a simple pair of white frilly socks. He lacks, severely, in rugs and the floors are fucking cold at night.

His hair is significantly longer than it used to be, almost reaching pigtail stage at this point, so he pushes it out of his face with a thin headband, pulling a few pieces out of it, 'artfully'. He's finishing applying moisturizer all over when the bell rings. It shakes him out of his thoughts. He didn't even know he had a doorbell.

He skips down the stairs, too tired to put on an uncaring facade. He can see someone's silhouette through the frosted glass windows in the entrance door and immediately recognizes it as Hyunjin's. The falter in his steps has nothing to do with the realization that he's gotten overly familiar with them now, able to recognize just from shape alone.

Hyunjin is the first one in, bashful and apologetic about his paint stained fingers.

"I've washed my hands like fifteen times now. I have no idea what to do to get these out but I promise they don't stain! See?"

Hyunjin turns around and wipes his hands on Changbin's face, who just whines until Chan is finished gathering them all inside.

They all look casual. Truly just freshly pulled from whatever they were doing prior to Minho's sudden invite. Chan's hair is curly in a messy way, a print from headphones shaping it. Changbin is freshly showered, wearing typical gym clothes. And Felix looks a little rounder than usual, puffy eyed and smiley.

"Did I wake you up? Sorry. I know this was sudden, but uhm. I made a lot of food."

He ignores Chan's knowing gaze, refusing to accept the warmth in it as the endearment it is, and waits until all of them have set their shoes aside.

"So, this is me. Living room, kitchen and dining here this way. If you need the bathroom there's one on the first floor behind the stairs. Make yourselves at home."

The pack almost breathes a sigh of relief, each one of them timidly looking around his house while making their way into the dining room where the table is fully set up. Minho busies himself, pretending to look through the fridge for drinks, his heart beating out of his chest, as the others gasp and marvel over everything.

Maybe he went a bit overboard. Judging by Chan's furrowed brows and concerned downturned pout he definitely had.

"What- You said you made a bit too much food- But this is-.. Minho, this is a feast ."

He pulls out a few beers, sodas and juices, and hands them to a slack jawed Jeongin, who immediately sets in action and carries the drinks to the table. Changbin is holding his phone and taking pics. God they're so embarrassing.

Minho whines, gesturing to the empty chairs.

“Just. Sit please, oh my god. I love cooking, okay? Stop giving me those eyes Chan. It's not like I cooked for you specifically." Half of them turn to look at him, his ears specifically, and the way they turn red whenever he gets flustered or lies. Chan's face blooms into a dimpled smile and Minho turns around to grab whatever's on hand, gripping it to keep himself sane.

Everybody sits down, a comfortable quiet settling over them. Minho is also taking his place at the table when he feels someone's eyes on him. Seungmin's specifically.

"You're wearing the pjs."

All of them stop their little conversations and look at Minho, whose ears are about to fall off.

"Yeah, well, it's the only clean thing I had."

He makes eye contact with Felix, whose smirk spreads into a smile, and knows Felix has definitely seen him do his laundry the other day. Whatever.

"Dig in."

They all do with overly acted moans and thumps on the table in praise of his cooking. He has to tsk and wipe Jisung's face a few times, unable to help himself when he pinches those round full cheeks oh his.

He passes the salt to a soft spoken Hyunjin, who thanks him with a giddy little wiggle. When he stands up to bring a few kitchen towels for the mess the boys make, he gently tucks one on Jeongin's lap, whose food lands on him more than in him.

He puts an extra piece of meat in Chan's plate even though there's plenty to go around, knowing Chan worked outside for more hours than usual today. The fresh sunburn says it all.

When he serves dessert, an ice cream cake he bought but decorated himself, he gives Felix the piece with the most strawberries, knowing how much he loves them. That little thing behind his ribs expands, a feeling of fulfillment and care overtaking the slowly caving cavity of it. He rubs a hand over it, uneasy.

And then, after the food is gone and almost everyone is leaning heavily on the table or in their chairs, Changbin speaks up.

"I think this is the best meal I've had in years. I don't think I can move anymore."

It takes everyone a bit to realize, amidst Jisung agreeing with Changbin and Jeongin laughing at a groaning, bloated Seungmin, that Minho's purring. Honest to gods loud little omegan rumbles, coming from that little pulsing place in his chest.

The room goes quiet, seven alphas staring at him in either awe or shock.


Oh. God.


Minho's purring stutters in its melodic flow, like a hiccup, and he forces it back down. He's fumbling for an excuse, so flustered his eyes sting with embarrassed tears. Minho doesn't cry, but his eyes get a bit wet and glazed over. He gets up with a shaky, overwhelmed sigh and starts cleaning up, unable to meet anyone's eyes yet.

A pair of veiny hands take the dishes from him and he looks up, pulled back from whatever place he's run off to mentally.

A weight slams into him and he groans, blinking and looking down, where Felix has thrown himself into his chest, hugging him with all his tiny might, face pressed into Minho's neck. He feels him outwardly seeking for a scent, no pretense, cute little button nose pressing insistently into his skin until Minho's scent bursts out of him with a worrying intensity.

Felix makes happy little chirps and melts into Minho's slightly larger frame, hugging him tighter when the omega tries pulling away, shy.

Chan takes a few tentative steps closer. Seungmin and Changbin are washing the dishes, barely. Jisung is wiping the table while Hyunjin putters around putting things to their places. And Jeongin is just standing at the head of the table a mere few feet away, watching them carefully.

They all are, sneaking little glances and looks, faces flushed and eyes wide.

"Lixie.. Can you let Minho go? Hm?"

Felix tightens his arms enough for Minho's full stomach to protest and he grimaces, petting the blonde's head until he eases up.

Chan looks like a dad who's about to apologize for his kid latching onto a random stranger they found on the street, and that makes a laugh bubble out of Minho.

"C'mon little one. Let Minho go, or you'll hurt him if you keep holding him so tight."

Chan reaches a careful arm out and Felix's alpha surfaces for a small second as he let's out a low growl, enough to make the hair on Minho's arms raise. When Chan huffs and places a hand on the smaller one's neck, Felix clamps his blunt teeth over Minho's, and every single train of thought the omega had before that, gets wiped clean.

The alpha doesn't break skin, doesn't even bite enough to bruise or mark, but the feeling of his teeth on his throat, the danger of letting a visibly affected alpha so close to his most vulnerable place, turns Minho's world upside down.

"No. Ours."

A plate clanks as Changbin drops it into the sink. Seungmin picks it back up and finishes the dishes himself. Chan is staring wide eyed at Felix, sneaking little horrified looks Minho's way. What is happening?

"Felix. Come out of it, please."

The little alpha noses up Minho's neck, pressing a pouty kiss behind the omega's ear and Minho? Minho has a full second and a half before his legs give out. Felix yelps and goes down with him. He lands with a groan on his back and Felix – on top of him.

Immediately they're helped back up and met with worried faces. Chan is holding a dazed Felix, who's blinking fast and licking over his lips in confusion, scanning the room as if he's just slowly gaining awareness.

"Are you okay? Minho?" Jeongin stands in front of him, arms out, ready to help. Seungmin is wiping his hands dry and Hyunjin and Jisung are standing like lost children in the middle of the kitchen, wide eyed. Changbin's the one holding Minho up from behind.

Minho nods and blinks a few more times, forcing himself not to sag his whole weight on the alpha holding him up. Holy shit.

"I'm.. I'm so sorry. Oh my god, Minho-"

He looks up and finds a fully aware Felix, clearly scared. Chan's arms go from restrictive to protective around the younger one.

"It's okay. I.. don't really know what happened to be honest. But it's okay, you didn't hurt me."

Felix nods, Chan's arms and Hyunjin's soft little phrases that he keeps whispering to the other pulling him away from a visible oncoming breakdown. Seungmin walks over and, with Minho's permission, checks his neck, touching him only with the pads of his fingers, gently.

"Okay. No mark. That's good. There'll be no bruising either by the looks of it. Are you really okay?"

Minho nods. He can't really tell them that his omega is scratching at the walls like a rabid dog, trying to rip its way out so it can claim Felix, take him as his own. Minho's always known his omega is a bit more aggressive, possessive to a fault. It's one of the reasons he'd never accepted being courted before, any and all partners he had were almost repulsed by how alpha-like he was.

There'd been a time when this left him with sleepless nights in seedy bars, hooking up with random alphas in dirty bathrooms. Any validation was fine for him, anyone's attention too, alphas or not. That past is behind him now, more than ten years behind. He's settled into his own, his omega one of the things he appreciates most, especially in a demanding job like his.

But sometimes, on the weekends, under the cover of the night, he mourns for something he can't have, for things he's unable to ask for, toughened and lonely from years of bad luck in a shitty society.

Changbin squeezes his arms before letting go and Minho's attention snaps back to where Chan is herding the guys out of the kitchen, murmuring quietly. No. Why are they going?
The omega inside him slumps over dramatically, feeble and weak. Minho is too tired to hide the way his face changes, eyes drooping, mouth pulled into a sad triangle.


"Oh little one-" Chan's hand hangs in the air between them. There's a clank somewhere in the foyer and a messy chorus of thank you's and good night's before the door closes.

Minho's face is beet red.

Chan breathes in and lets his hand drop, tracing down Minho's own arm until their fingers tangle into each other lightly. Chan plays with his hand and Minho's nerves shoot little electric shocks down several parts of his body. His hand is shaking.

"Chan..?"

"First of all, thank you so much for today. You might not know it but some of us have not had proper home cooked food in months, if not years. What you did today was the sweetest gesture anyone's ever done for us, as a pack."

Minho opens his mouth and Chan shakes his head, smiling, knowing if he lets the omega speak he'll deny or brush his compliments off.

"And second of all. What happened earlier with Felix. It was unacceptable, and I, as the carer of this pack, am deeply apologetic for what happened. Felix and his inability to control his alpha is a pretty recent issue we've been learning to deal with."

Chan's hand moves from his pocket to the hem of his shirt and then to the back of his neck, rubbing it in a flustered manner. Minho wants to climb this man.

"He's a late bloomer, having presented way after joining our pack, and things are still a bit too big for him sometimes. And you.. well.. you know.. "

Him?

"Me? What about me?"

Minho holds his breath, eyes searching Chan's. The alpha looks around before making eye contact, chuckling awkwardly. This feels, simultaneously, monumental and yet like the most casual conversation. Chan had this same awkward smile when he asked Minho which brand of chips he preferred. His palms are sweating.

"You're a gorgeous omega Minho, kind to a fault and cute, with a unique scent, personality and humor. I don't think we've clicked like this with anyone other than the members of the pack itself before. All of us have friends, but none overlap like this. There's been no one the entire pack has taken a liking to either, not at the same time at least."

What is happening? Minho is about to pass out, for real this time, as dramatic as it sounds. He can hear his heartbeat in his ears, threatening to silence his own thoughts with the pulsing thud of it. He wipes his palms on the satin shorts of his pajamas.

"What.. Chan, what do you mean by that? Why are you saying all that?"

Chan smiles a pitying and warm little smile (stirring something like bashfulness in the older man) and brings Minho's hand up to his face. For a split second it looks like he's about to kiss it but he only brings the back of it to his cheek, nuzzling into it softly. Minho's stomach drops into an endless pit, swirling down a metaphorical drain.

"We've all been trying to court you for weeks. But you're oblivious, both to our advances and to how incredible you are. I'm tired of pretending all you need is time to accept us. I'm not stupid you know? All those deprecating jokes hold some truth with the way you say them, and I hate whenever you tell another one and laugh it off. I'll understand if you don't want us or aren't ready, but I've seen the way you look at the guys."

The alpha presses a kiss to his knuckles and Minho has a flashback of wanting to use this same fist not even a couple of months ago to knock this man's teeth out in front of his own home. Oh how the tables have turned.

"You're so much more than you let yourself think you are. I've never met anybody like you before and I want you in my life as much more than a friend or a neighbor at that. I don't know if we deserve you but please? Give it a thought, for the pack."

Minho's cheek feels wet and he realizes, embarrassingly, that a lone tear made its way down.

"Please. We'll take it slow, I promise, just give us a chance to officially court you."

He wants to answer and his mouth is moving, but what comes out is a little breathy noise, followed by a few more tears. He covers his face and laughs, at his own reaction, at the whole situation, at Chan's panicked face. The alpha flutters around him without touching him, and Minho's answer solidifies itself in his mind.

"Minho-"

"No sorry- I'm okay, sorry I just. It's a lot."

He feels the alpha rub his arms, being careful not to go above or under the sleeves of his t-shirt. How gentlemanly of him, after emotionally breaking Minho down like that.

"Fuck you. Could've just asked to court me, no need for all that sappy shit. My nose is stuffy now."

Chan laughs, a high pitched warm thing, and pulls him into a hug, rubbing his lower back, again, at a respectful distance from his ass. How annoying. Minho hides a little smile in the crook of Chan's neck.

"The answer is yes."








He watches Chan basically fly home, waving and giggling and almost eating shit as he stumbles a few times on the uneven road between their houses.
Minho presses shaky fingertips to his tingling lips. Lips that he pressed to the corner of Chan's mouth when the alpha kept asking him if he's 'sure about it'.

What has Minho gotten himself into?

That night no thought follows Minho to his dreams, and he wakes up more rested than he's been in a long, long time.














After their little dinner-turned-courting proposal date, nothing and yet everything changes.

Every morning Changbin makes sure to leave for his classes half an hour earlier, appointing himself as Minho's designated driver. When Minho tells him he can walk, Changbin shuts him up with a wink and an amused, if not cocky, 'no omega of mine will suffer through minor inconveniences like walking'.

Minho learns a few new things about himself, and the pack.

Like how Changbin is loaded beyond good reason but choosing to live in a frat house only because it's with the pack. He learns that Seungmin, as inoffensive as he looks, bites back the hardest out of them all. Minho's caught a few glimpses of that beforehand, but not to this extent.

They're out shopping, Seungmin carrying his cart, when an alpha approaches Minho with clear intent, half posturing and half pretending to be looking at the vegan cheese section next to them.

Minho feels the way the man keeps sending him looks, and then how these escalate into straight up staring. Before he can ask him what's that about, Seungmin forces his way between them and leans into Minho, wrapping one arm around his waist.

"Did you get everything you need, honey?"

He wants to laugh, and Seungmin does too if the way his mouth twitches is of any indication. The man doesn't seem to take the hint, still standing a few feet away, almost glaring Seungmin down.

They continue their shopping, and for a few minutes, the strange man was forgotten. Seungmin leaves to grab a pack of Minho's favorite chocolate milk when the man makes an appearance again, sliding up to Minho almost imposingly. He has a few inches on the omega, using the extra height to crowd Minho into the snack section.

"Hey pretty."

Minho only sighs and turns around to walk away, not in the mood to be faking a smile just to save an alpha's ego.

He doesn't make it far, a thick hand grabbing his upper arm and turning him back around forcefully. Minho stumbles with a yelp when another hand grabs his other arm.

"Let me go or I will kick you in the balls."

He's defiant and will always be, not a newly presented omega either, so the way the alpha's scent sours the air around them doesn't immediately knock him down, but it does tell Minho enough about him. He's trying to put Minho into a spell, counting on softening him up, making him more agreeable, easier to deal with. And that's fucking illegal without Minho's consent.

"Good try. Get your hands off of me now."

The man ignores him, once again, and gets in his personal space. Minho tries taking a step back, flailing his arms to shake the man's hands off of him, but to no avail.

"You smell so fucking ripe. I see no bite yet, and you don't look like you're getting any younger. What's an omega your age doing outside, unmated and unbred? Do you think that's decent? Prancing around looking like that?"

Normally Minho would've kneed the man in the balls a long time ago, but he's with Seungmin, an alpha much younger than him. Minho should be the one looking after Seungmin and not the other way around. The mention of his age also makes his hackles rise. He never cared how old he is, but with the way things are progressing with the pack, these words hit a bit too close home.

Before he can actually knee the alpha, the man gets pulled away from him by the back of his hair. Minho's left standing, holding his upper arms while he watches.

Seungmin walks to the exit, dragging the man with an arm extended backwards, death gripping the yelling alpha’s hair. A security guard approaches him immediately and Minho watches from afar as Seungmin explains the situation and points at the omega, face neutral.

Minho must probably look the part, disheveled and spooked, a little pale under the blue tinted lights of the store. The guard only nods and proceeds to escort the alpha out.

Seungmin walks back, pushes the cart with one hand and slips the other into Minho's smaller one.

They finish shopping in silence, the shock of what happened slowly settling in. Minho's struck with the realization that Seungmin recognized his fight or flight mode before the omega had, letting him slowly come down while he finished most of the shopping himself.

Once they're out, bags in hand, Seungmin pulls the omega to Changbin's car. He smoothes Minho's shirt where it pinches weirdly from the seatbelt he strapped on him and only after that gets in the car himself.

Minho feels cared for. Not the same feeling as when Chan does chores for him, or when Changbin buys him little things Minho doesn't have the budget for, or even when Felix fills that void in his heart by forcing affection into his life. Not the same and yet a care parallel to that. It's like Seungmin took a look at him and knew what to do before Minho himself did.

If he'd postured to the alpha, Minho would've become more distressed, his omega rising to the surface in the presence of two aggressive alphas. If he'd started screaming and yelling, Minho might've gone into fight mode from being overwhelmed.

If he'd have started scenting and coddling Minho after everything happened, the omega thinks he would've probably flinched away, too deep into shock to be welcoming to any type of touch so soon.

He lets out a shaky breath and leaves his left hand open in the space between their seats, looking away. Seungmin's right hand immediately covers his own, tangling their fingers and squeezing Minho's hand a few times, a calming pulsing rhythm.

When they arrive home, Seungmin quietly helps Minho carry everything inside and then offers him a light hug, allowing some of his peach scent to sweeten the air. Before he leaves he pulls back and makes sure to look Minho in the eye, eyes sharp yet kind, puppy-like.

"Call any of us if you need someone here, later. No overthinking allowed."

Minho nods, feeling like he's the younger one in this courtship when his cheeks tint pink.

Seungmin sighs, fond, and brushes a thumb over his blushed skin.

"What am I gonna do with you, little elderly man."

He leaves Minho with a tight knot in his throat, pink cheeks and an echo of a laugh.










Out of everyone, Minho has spent the least time with Jisung and Jeongin. He aims to change that, not one to just sit and expect things to be done for him. So he reaches out to the youngest alpha first, knowing Jisung is knee deep in school projects right now, hands shaky as he sends him a simple message of 'lunch with me? I'll pay'. He slaps the phone face down on his desk and ignores the pointed look of his least favorite coworker. Nosy bitch.

He gets back an excited wall of text, ten minutes later, half of which are lewd and ironic emojis that make Minho laugh out loud, office etiquette be damned.



They go to an arcade cafe two streets away from Minho's workplace, 'Convenience over style!' the younger tells him, holding the door open for him with a cheeky grin. Minho is overcome with the urge to pinch his cheeks. And he does, as soon as they sit down and the waiter leaves them with their menus.

"Ow! What's that for?"

Minho's fingers move to Jeongin's lower lip, pushed out into a pout, and pinches it too, cooing when the younger one batts his hand away with a huff.

"One moment you gag at my pickup lines, the next you're abusing my mouth. What now?"

Minho smiles and leans back, pretending to look through the menu.

"Haven't abused your mouth. Yet."

His eyes stay down on the menu, even as the alpha hits his elbow on the table, hissing and curling into himself. He orders for them both when the waiter arrives, looking at Jeongin in fake mild concern.

"You menace."

Minho's eyes finally stray to the alpha, who's holding his elbow like he broke the bone or something.

"Be nice to your elders."

Jeongin huffs a petulant laugh and raises his arms, turning his eyes to the ceiling.

"God, if you hear me-"

Minho hits his shin under the table and they start a foot fight, giggling and trapping each other's legs like two high schoolers on their first date. The waiter brings their food and tells them to enjoy it with an almost constipated look on his face. Jeongin watches him walk away before turning to Minho, smirking.

"Do you think he's under the impression that you're my sugar daddy?"

Minho hits his shin extra hard, ears red, whisper-yelling to the alpha to shut the fuck up as he laughs through the pain. If Minho stares extra long at the alpha's cute dimples, or the way his whole face brightens up when he laughs, or even the way his eyes disappear with the tiniest hint of a smile – that's between him and whoever had a hand in creating him.



After their quick meal, Jeongin convinces a reluctant Minho to play a few games, and with half an hour left until the end of his lunch break, he agrees. He gets his ass beat in Street Fighter II and regains back his honor by annihilating Jeongin in air hockey, enjoying the growing fear in the younger's eyes the more Minho 'accidentally' aims the puck at his dick.

He's smiling all the way back to work, five minutes late and giggly. Jeongin sends him a little 'had fun daddy' alongside an eggplant, water droplets and one of those orgasm face emojis. He blocks him.






His date with Jisung gets postponed a few times, with neither of them at fault. Jisung is stretched thin between a huge project for one of his music classes, his part-time job bartending, and his upcoming rut. When Jisung tells him about it, cheeks flushed, Minho forces himself to be the bigger person, reassuring the alpha to take his time with everything else and that their date can always wait.

He spends that night laying on his bed, staring at the same old popcorn ceiling and thinking of ruts and alphas and his alphas in ruts. He wonders when he started thinking of them as his.




After work, he tries his best to spend as much time as he can with the others, enjoying how weeks into their courting they still ask if he's up for it, already familiar with the omega's need of space and time for himself. That's the thing that pushes him to reach out to Jisung, nervous, a day before his rut is supposed to hit.

"Hey Sungie."

The alpha on the other end of the call chuffs, a primal little noise of affection that makes Minho smile, and then whines.

"Why'd you call me, I'm literally about to climb through my window and risk Chan's wrath just to see you."

Minho laughs, hearing a few more happy chuffs on the other side of the call.

"You sound so beautiful.."

Minho rolls on the bed until he's pressed face down, and screams, ignoring the laughing in the background.

"Did Jeongin or Chan teach you that?"

"Neither, I just love your voice a lot. Sounds so warm."

Minho blushes down to his chest, unable to stop smiling.

"Shut up. Anyways, send Chan here, I'll.. um, I have something to give you."

The alpha quiets down, his voice closer to the phone now, sending tingles down Minho's back.

"Something to give me?"

Minho picks at his cuticles and shrugs, even though the alpha doesn't see it, he still feels a little too seen.

"You'll see."

"Okay. Thank you Minho."

He huffs a shaky breath and ends the call, waiting until Chan rings the doorbell, grinning as soon as Minho opens it. He hands Chan a backpack and threatens to end his bloodline if he takes a peek. Chan flushes red, for some reason, and leaves Minho with a kiss on the cheek. These fucking alphas. Minho holds a hand over his face and heads to the kitchen. Time to do some food prep for the week.




Jisung ends up calling him, half delirious, a day later. He's audibly affected, voice gruff, little whines and chuffs and all types of noises that Minho finds unreasonably attractive leaving his mouth. When Minho notices the way he's breathing he asks if he's busy, voice pitching upwards.

Jisung stays quiet for a moment before whispering into the phone, shy.

"Thank you for giving me some of your clothes. This rut has been kinder to me with your scent so close."

Minho imagines the alpha wrapping himself in Minho's hoodie like a nesting omega and shudders, gripping the phone in his hand.

"Are you alone? Is someone taking care of you?"

He knows there's someone home in the pack at all times but he can't help the omegan urge to care and worry for his future mate's well-being. Future mate. Minho crosses his legs, ignoring the needy twinge in the lower half of his body.

"I'm.. Channie is here, um, helping me.. y'know.."

Minho pauses the show he'd muted earlier, eyes focusing and unfocusing a few times.

"As in..?"

There's a shuffling noise from the phone, before Jisung hums.

"Yeah. He's sleeping now. I tired him out earlier. Don't wanna wake him before another rut wave hits."

Minho is stuck imagining the two alphas together, Chan's broad back over Jisung's slightly smaller frame, holding onto his waist, moving in tandem, the room almost sour with their scents, humid in the summer heat. This is bad for his mental health. His voice is raspy when he replies.

"That's good Sungie, I'm glad you have help through your rut."

Jisung hums again and sighs, hesitating to say something. Minho knows him well enough by now.

"I wish you were here too.."

The omega's world fuzzes out around the edges, like a great white noise filter. He stays quiet until Jisung mutters a scared 'Minho?' into the phone.

"I'm here. Sorry that just caught me off guard. Would you really want that? To have me there..?"

There's more shuffling on the other side, Chan's voice asking who's he talking to in the background and Jisung answering in a soft little tone that pulls at Minho's gut.

"Yeah.. I'd love to have you here with me, with us.. I'd- I'd love you to take care of me too.."

Chan's warm faraway chuckle covers the way Jisung whines, telling him off in the whiniest tone Minho's heard from him yet. He's so beyond cute in rut. Minho would pay good money to see him get destroyed by the older alpha.

God. He wishes he was there too, between the two of them, skin on skin, sandwiched between his favorite ass and favorite waist.

"I'd love that too. Would you be good for me and Channie?"

The question has the desired effect on more than just Jisung, Chan groaning in the background as well. There's a gasp and a whine, followed by Chan mumbling something. The slick noise of skin sticking to skin is what pushes Minho into slicking himself, thighs pressed together almost shamefully.

"Fuck- ah- sorry Minho- hn!"

"Give the phone to Channie, love."

The younger alpha whines at the pet name, doing as told. Chan's voice sounds breathless when he talks, rough around the edges.

"Yes Minho? Sorry, I think Sung's about to hit another wave."

Minho curls up on his side and ignores the slow dampening of his underwear.

"It's okay. Take care of him for me, yeah? You're doing good too, alpha."

Chan curses and muffles a moan himself, making Minho grin. He shoves a hand down his pants the moment he clicks 'end call'.







Seven days later Jisung, Hyunjin and Minho are sitting on Minho's new rug, 'testing it out', as they have a little self-care day. Minho's painting Jisung's nails while Hyunjin mixes up a pot of clay mask for the three of them, hair pulled back in two cute pigtails, Minho wants to tug on them to get Hyunjin all whiny and huffy, but doesn't. Jisung rolls his own bangs into a chunky hair roller, pink, and wiggles whenever Minho touches his palms softly, ticklish.

He wonders if this is what his parents would have wanted for him, for their only child. Because he's happier than he's ever been before. He feels younger by the day too, as if the weight of the world he'd been carrying is now shared between eight. Mornings are easier to get through, workdays much more tolerable, and evenings? Evenings are his favorite.

The other day Felix came by with little jello cups, Changbin in tow, to sweeten Minho up just because Felix used orange flavored jelly and it reminded him of the omega. Minho denied any and all allegations of being biased thrown his way by the bigger alpha as he powered through five sugar-free jello cups that definitely should've had a sweetener added to them.

But he eats and smiles and ignores Changbin's knowing smirk as Felix glows brighter and brighter with happiness. His little alpha did his best. So Minho eats.

The next morning Chan comes by, the clothes he'd given Jisung for his rut freshly cleaned and folded in his hands. Minho is taken aback when Chan pushes him inside and presses a needy kiss to his mouth, pulling away when Minho gasps, eyes blown wide.

"Sorry. I just missed you-"

Minho pushes Chan against the door, slamming it shut, and kisses him until the alpha's plush lips swell. He sends him home dizzy and hard, smirking when Chan tries his best to cover himself, looking around in case any of their other neighbors are watching.


He gets a whiny call not even five minutes after the alpha had entered the pack house, Felix's voice pitching up as he complains and whines about Chan getting the first kiss.

"I mean, I did kinda meet him first."

Felix gasps, affronted, muttering to himself that he's next. Changbin's voice yells out in the background, fighting with Jeongin about which one of them is after Felix. Minho feels like a maiden ready to be wed, with alphas vying for her attention. How cute.

The next one to kiss him is actually Hyunjin, by accident. He's ushering them out after their little spa session, knowing Jisung has to wake up early and that Hyunjin does as well. The alphas pout their way to the door, with Jisung pressing a kiss to Minho's cheek and leaving first. Minho leans over to kiss Hyunjin's cheek next when the alpha, unconscious of Minho's proximity, turns his head towards him, their lips brushing.

The tingles that go through Minho's lips make him pull back as if burned, and Hyunjin? Hyunjin is leaning against the doorframe, lips parted and cheeks red. Jisung gathers him up and drags him home, giggling like two little school girls while Minho waves them off.

He wakes up the morning after to a big bouquet of flowers on his doorstep and a drawing of a chibi version of himself and Hyunjin making kissy faces at each other. He's too endeared to complain about how short Hyunjin drew him and how stubby and tiny his hands look. The drawing sits next to the first note Hyunjin sent him, on the fridge, in the middle of the many other little notes the alphas kept leaving him.

It's beyond cute. Minho wants to mate them.

Minho wants to mate them, for life.

He takes a day off of work to sit with that realization.



What ends the courtship and starts the rest of their lives together is, not to be a walking cliche, a little jealousy.

Minho is on his way back home, Changbin having called him to apologize for not being able to come pick him up from work today due to having a surprise shift at the gym. Minho laughs it off and tells him to make it up to him by helping him fix the bathroom door downstairs. Changbin's voice goes from stressed to whipped alpha in a second, preening at the idea that the omega needs him.

He's smiling like a madman, thinking of buff short alpha arms bulging under the weight of a door, when he spots two girls leaving the pack house. He stops and watches as his Jisungie hugs them both and smiles prettily at them. Minho keeps walking, looking away as the alpha goes back inside and the girls walk away, passing by him, giggling to themselves. Their scents are omegan.

He slams and locks the door, letting the stuffy silence of the house sit with his turbulent aura. His omega wants to throw things at the walls and make a mess of everything around him, to rage out, but Minho's learned how to control it long ago.

A long bath and a talk to himself and he's much better. He understands that what he saw today proves nothing. These could have been his packs' friends, or someone's sisters. He knows a few of the pack members' original packs live nearby. Maybe it was some classmates. Hyunjin mentioned something about having projects and a thesis to prepare for.

Minho blows the candles out and gets out of the bath, silencing his phone for the night and trying to ignore the many ignored messages from Chan sent throughout the evening.




A banging wakes him up, the doorbell accompanying whoever's decided to slam his door in at- he checks the clock- six in the morning. He feels feverish and dizzy, damp from a night of sweating. It hasn't been that hot during the night but maybe Minho caught a bug or something.

He stumbles down the stairs, frowning when the tell-tale of lower pelvic pain starts making its presence known. There's no way his heat is here, that'd be almost three weeks too early, an anomaly for him. Should probably call his doctor.

The doorbell doesn't stop ringing and Minho's head feels like it's splitting open. He wrenches that door open, the hinges creaking loudly, and faces a scared Chan.

"What?"

The alpha exhales like he's been holding his breath for the last few minutes and pats Minho all over.

"Minho what happened? Are you okay? We've been calling you for half a day now. I was going insane!"

Half a day?

"What are you talking about? I didn't die in a few hours. I'm fine Chan."

The alpha looks at him as if Minho's out of his mind, pressing a hand to his forehead.

"Minho you haven't responded to any of our calls or texts the entire day. What was I supposed to think happened?"

Minho's skin cools where the alpha touches it, a phantom of calmness falling over him.

"I'm sorry I turned off my phone last night. I didn't think I'd worry you."

Chan keeps checking him out, checking his temperature, pulse and scent. His face is so handsome when he's concerned, brows pulled in the middle. Minho's stomach starts hurting again.

"Minho, it's been almost a whole day. Changbin lost his mind when he realized you never even went to work to begin with. Felix has been stress baking for the past three hours now and Hyunjin won't move away from that damn window, insisting to watch over your house while you're gone."

What is going on? Minho's head feels heavy, filled with cotton, and his ears are ringing.

"It's six am, what are you talking about?"

Chan's expression goes from mildly concerned to heavily so. He's holding Minho's weight with one side of his body while texting someone. Why isn't alpha paying attention to him?

"Minho it's six in the afternoon. We've been trying to reach out to you the entire day, I've been trying since yesterday night. I think you're going into heat soon."

"That's impossible. I still have three weeks."

Chan looks apologetic, as if Minho's natural cycle is any of his fault.

"Having seven interested alphas pumping pheromones at you day in and out might've fucked with your cycle. I'm sorry Minho-ya, if I knew I'd have made the pack wear scent blockers more often."

Minho's omega protests the idea, growling just at the mere mention of his alphas' scents being covered up. His eyes, unbeknownst to him, flash a dark blue in the sun, turning to his very own brown right after.

"No."

Chan stares at him open mouthed. He chuckles, a little out of breath as he guides Minho back in the house.

"I've never met someone with an omega so strong. I didn't even think omegas could do that. You're amazing."

Minho doesn't care if Chan's just buttering him up just so he would listen to him and move where he needs him to, the praise went right to his bones.

The omega is fully aware, but also feels as if he's been demoted to passenger princess while his omegan side is driving the metaphorical car now. He sees and hears and can respond to Chan, able to make sane decisions, but it's all because his omega lets him, paying careful attention to everything Minho does. Oh this will be fun.

Chan's telling him about how he'd texted Seungmin to prepare for Minho's heat and bring him everything he needs. He watches Chan's mouth, his bare arms, the way his eyes flicker around, checking for any threats subconsciously.

"Is there anything else you need? Hey baby-"

Minho snaps out of it at the hand in front of his face, and grabs it, bringing it up to his neck. The tips of Chan's fingers are rough, from outside work and the likes, but warm. He rubs it on his left scent gland and watches the alpha unravel, shakily lowering himself into a squat in front of Minho.

"All I need are your knots in me for the next three days."

Chan bends over Minho's lap and presses his forehead to Minho's bare thighs, damp breath fogging against damper skin. Minho hears the door open and the scent of the pack fills his house.

"God. Okay, yes, I- Minho are you sure? You know what this means right? Are you fully able to consent to this right now?"

Chan is sweet, really, but Minho's ass is starting to get wet and he feels the first few licks of heat slowly approaching. He's ready to push the alpha on the floor and have his way with him, watch him beg and cry prettily. He'd been ready to take a knot and a bite long ago.

Felix, Changbin and Hyunjin almost run into the living room, looking like they're ready to fight. Seungmin and Jeongin are behind, carrying full bags and backpacks.

"Been sure since the moment you gave me that little heat package. I knew I'd have you to use it with."

Chan hugs his legs and tightens his grip around Minho, taking his time to calm himself down, scent almost overcoming Minho's own. Felix and Hyunjin slowly sit on either sides of the omega, almost pulled close by his scent. Changbin helps the younger ones unload everything in the kitchen.

"You'll be a perfect pack luna."

Minho's insides twist like he's been wrung dry by Chan's hands. A pack luna was the equivalent, if not much more important, than a pack alpha. He didn't realize that this was what his pack wanted of him. Felix holds his breath next to him while Hyunjin nods vehemently, staring intently at Minho's side profile.

"Pack lunas are usually chosen in omega prevalent packs. You're aware of that?"

Chan nods and presses his mouth above Minho's right knee, causing goosebumps to form.

"I know."

Minho bites his bottom lip until it bleeds.

"What if I'm not good enough for that? What if there's someone better, younger?"

Chan lifts his head enough to look the omega in the eyes, looking confused. He shares a look with Felix and softens up his voice.

"Where's this coming from? My Minho knows he's the most gorgeous omega to have ever lived."

Chan's little teasing holds truth to it with the way he says it, looking up at Minho with those puppy eyes of his. What is up with this pack and being unreasonably cute? Felix nods from his periphery.

"Yesterday, when I was coming home from work. I just happened to see some omegas leave the pack house and I-" Minho looks away, embarrassed and flayed open from the inside for everyone to see. He huffs. Emotions are so fucking hard. Hyunjin places a hand over his own, briefly, urging him on.

"I know those girls could have been anyone. And I'm sorry for feeling the way I did, but it brought feelings and thoughts out of me that I usually try to push away. Those girls were prettier and younger and so much happier looking than me. I always look either emotionally constipated or mean. I never cared, or at least I usually never did. But I've been so lonely and it's so pathetic to realize just how lonely I was. That loneliness stayed with me for so long it became part of who I present as. A loner, putting off mean vibes in order to save myself from any heartbreak or disappointments."

Minho clears his throat when it gets too hard to speak and deflates almost imperceptibly.

"And then you came into my life like a fucking cyclone. Whipped me up a good one and turned my whole world around. I got attached so fast. And that feeling of doubt kept growing the closer we got because what if you suddenly realize I'm not who you see me as? What if you see me for the fraud I am? That I'm not as strong or pretty or nice. That I'm just an old mean omega who's going to die alone."

The scent of rotten peaches wafts over to him and he watches Seungmin abruptly turn and leave the room, a concerned Changbin following after him. Seungmin's cheeks had been wet.

Chan's hands cover his and he's forced to look down at the alpha.

"First of all, thank you for telling me everything. We love you and that won't change just because you think being human is a flaw. Second of all, Jisung had a group project and those were his classmates, not that you could've known. We should've told you, but all of us were busy and didn't really think of how it'd look from the outside. I admit the girls got a bit flirty in the beginning but none of us went beyond friendly talk and they gave up. Do you know why? Because we have our own omega. Ours . You're all we talk about whenever the seven of us are all home."

Chan smiles, full and endeared. Minho wants to cry even more now.

"Your scent lingers in Jisung's room from the clothes you let him borrow for his rut, in the kitchen from the little dishes you keep leaving behind, on the living room couch where you always sit and nest into our blankets. In our eyes you are perfect, especially when you bite back and frown and yell at us. Everyone knows I, especially, have a thing for that." Chan's hands squeeze his and Minho's gut tightens at the size difference.

"Yet you're so incredibly mean to yourself, and it's hard to pick up on it sometimes because you're just as confident. I'm sorry for not seeing you, for not reassuring your worries. You won't fool any of us with your tough little self anymore, Lee Minho."

Minho laughs and looks up, unable to stop himself from tearing up. He won't cry, not today, but his eyes stay wet nevertheless.

"I'd die happy to know we have you to guide us through all of this, through life. There's never going to be anyone else for us."

His teeth are already itching at the prospect of sinking them into each and every one of his mates.



"Okay."

His voice shakes a bit and he doesn't have time to feel shy about it, as Chan trails warm, wet kisses up his thighs, stopping for a brief moment to breathe Minho's scent in where it's strongest. Minho tries not to let it get to his head, especially when Chan's pretty nose hikes his shirt up by accident.

When Chan lifts his head he looks beautiful, lips plump and eyes blown out. He's so cute like this, needy.

"You look good on your knees."

A cough pulls Minho's attention from Chan, whose cheeks have gone a delicious wine red.

"Sorry I didn't want to interrupt but Sungie's on his way home. All of us have called in off work and classes, just in case. We didn't know what to do so we brought food and meds and changes of clothes. What’s next?"

Changbin looks a little lost, mirrorring everyone else's expression. These alphas are really mine. Mine . Minho thinks.

He breathes through a little pulse in his lower back, knowing the three alphas closest to him can smell how wet he is, and rights his voice, omega coming out strong.

"I need you to warm up the food first. We'll eat as soon as Jisung comes home. Then you'll help me make my bed with special heat sheets because I don't have a spare mattress lying around, sadly. And then you'll wait for me, on the bed, naked, while I shower."

Felix presses his face to Minho's arm, whining, while Hyunjin just keeps staring at him with those sparkly eyes of his. Chan is seemingly gone, head empty as he runs his eyes all over Minho, clinging to his legs.

"Even your sweat smells good."

That breaks the tension and Minho laughs, turning to face a flustered Felix, who just presses his face deeper in Minho's arm, rubbing his nose right above his left pec.




After a few more cuddles, specifically for the alphas that haven't gotten one, they get to work, doing as their omega had asked them to. Chan is tasked with being Minho's little helper as he's a bit dizzy and weak. Minho's house already smells like them and he can't wait until he does too. Or until the alphas smell like him, bitten in the most obvious of places. The rumble he lets out makes Jeongin stumble up the stairs, and Minho allows the satisfaction to settle in.

Jisung arrives like a tornado, hair wet from the light rain shower outside. He runs straight to Minho and kisses him on the lips, pulling back only to utter the most Jisung thing ever.

"I can't wait to finally touch your boobs."

Minho watches as Changbin drags him away, giggling when the alpha gets shoved into the downstairs bathroom to dry off, looking like a sad little wet rat.

"Right. My tits aside, if anybody else needs to shower, go now, before we eat, because after that my heat will probably come in fully and I'll need everyone next to me."





Felix and Hyunjin ate first, shoving food in their mouths in a hurry, before running for the two empty bathrooms in the house. In contrast, Minho eats slowly, smiling to himself, knowing very well why his softest alphas needed to clean up.

"I call dibs on them. Y'all can watch."

Jeongin chokes and Seungmin pats his back, just as red in the face. Chan just blushes and digs into his food while Jisung and Changbin share astonished little glances.

"We can.. do it like that, too?"

Minho looks at Jisung, letting his eyes run from his round cheeks to his thick arms and little waist.

"Hasn't Chan helped you during your rut? How would this be any different? Is taking it up the ass from an omega somehow that different?"

The alpha's back goes pin straight and he stabs a fork into his food, chewing on it loudly. Seungmin and Jeongin laugh, no longer at risk of choking.

"Right! Of course! Silly me-"

"Bet he's thinking of riding Minho now."

Chan holds Jisung back from launching over the table at Seungmin's smug little face.

"I'm not opposed to any of you riding me, actually. I never said anything about preferring to be on the receiving end of things. On the contrary, I like leading. Just because I'll let you knot me when I’m heat drunk doesn't mean I can't turn you around and have my way with you once I’m back to being myself."

He stands up and grabs his leftovers, humming in the quiet that has fallen in the room. Someone scrapes a fork against a plate and someone else excuses themselves to use the bathroom next. Minho's skin tingles with the weight of their gazes and the strength of their scents.



After everybody's clean and the dishes are done (thank God for Felix) the alphas are gathered in Minho's normal sized bedroom, a bit stuffy with everyone inside, but once everybody's on top of someone - the room will be just fine. He's drying himself off, staring in the mirror as a sense of foreboding falls over him.
It's a shaky type of excitement he hasn't felt in years. His brain won't even compute the fact that he has seven naked men in the other room waiting at his beck and call. God.
Minho grips the sink and splashes more water on his face, closing his eyes for a moment.

He'd just showered and the back of his thighs are already wet, trickles of slick making their way down. He doesn't bother wiping it down, knowing the moment he's out of the bathroom someone will be cleaning it up for him. Minho throws on a towel around the waist anyways, just to have something to pull off of himself.

When he exits the ensuite bathroom he's hit with an intense amalgamation of horny. There's truly no other way of putting it. His eyes sweep over the entire room, trying not to get too overwhelmed seeing so much skin at once. Hyunjin lays with his back to Seungmin's chest, whose hand sits idle in the former alpha's lap, dangerously close to his naked dick.

Changbin sits right next to those two, smiling softly as he gazes at Minho's body, at the little cat paw tattoo under his appendix scar precisely. Jisung, who's half draped over Changbin, is very intently staring at Minho's pecs, to everyone's amusement.
The omega drags a hand down his neck, then chest, squeezing one of his pecs while watching Jisung. The alpha slumps on top of Changbin and whines.

Jeongin, who's sitting cross-legged, looks much more interested in Minho than in the other alphas, taking him apart with his eyes.

"I know we're taking our time here but- Fuck, please take that off I'm about to start drooling like a mutt."

Chan's voice brings him to where he sits, at the foot of the bed, cuddled up to a clingy Felix. They look so good together, Chan's pinker skin tone against Felix's golden one. Minho's pleased to see that Felix's freckles continue everywhere. He wonders if Chan's knees bruise pink too.

"So? Drool. My little puppy."

The alpha physically recoils into a giggling Felix, who just wraps his arms tighter around him and looks at Minho over Chan's blushed shoulder. His eyes are so sultry. All of them are. Minho feels a little too flustered.

"If I get performance issues because of stage fright please leave all complaints to the omega association."

Jeongin laughs and stands up, confident and unbothered, as if he'd been born to walk the world naked. The young alpha walks around him and Minho feels a bit like prey. A hand touches the back of his neck and he immediately gasps, the fresh scent of oranges and eucalyptus filling the room. The alphas all melt into the bed with noises of their own, watching the only two standing enraptured.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have child bearing hips?"

Minho can't help himself, laughing at the question. Jeongin grabs the back of his neck and pulls a gasp out of him as he presses his entire body to Minho's.

"Has anyone?"

Minho shakes his head no.

"Hm. A pity, I'll make sure to tell you this more often. You look so soft, wide where you should be and small where my hands fit best. Admit it. You like having a young alpha want you. Want your pretty body."

Chan protests, knowing Minho's insecurities with age, but Minho's reaction says the opposite, if the way slick slides down his thighs shows anything. Felix turns Chan's head away and quiets him down with a filthy kiss, winking at Jeongin. The others' gazes fleet from the two on the bed to the two in the middle of the room.

"I'll take that as a yes. I can feel you slick through the towel. You're so wet."

Minho's shoulders raise up when the younger one slides an arm around him, pressing down on his navel. Fuck.

"I wanna fuck you standing up. So that everyone can watch us. What do you say, daddy?"

Jisung's whole body shivers and Changbin has to physically restrain him from joining the two. Minho's stuck in a limbo, unable to recover as fast from the unexpected dirty talk. He feels a hand slide up his wet inner thighs, forcing him to stand with legs further apart.

Jeongin's long fingers tap on Minho's balls and he jumps a little, having Jeongin pull him back into his chest. The alpha laughs, Felix and Seungmin do too, and Minho's very very small humiliation kinks lights up like a beacon.

"If you're gonna fuck me just do it!"

Jeongin's hand slips around his hip, under his towel, and slaps the tip of his cock, making Minho bow over with a yelp. The alpha pulls him back up so that everyone could see Minho's expression.

"Bend over, arms on the bed, knees apart. If you're gonna be a bitch in heat I'll treat you like one."

Minho wants to talk back, telling him that he is technically a bitch in heat but Jeongin uses the grip on his neck to guide him to the bed. He makes eye contact with Felix and Chan, who scoot over to make space for Minho. Jeongin pushes him down until he's bent over and the shame engulfs him whole. He has Changbin and Jisung on his left, Seungmin and Hyunjin on his right and Chan's massive cock right in his face.

He lets his head hang, unable to look them in the eye when Jeongin tugs the towel away. There are murmured appreciations and little praises. Minho even feels Felix's hand scratch the back of his ears.

"I want you to sit on my face." Chan.

"And I want you to fuck me after this." Felix.

"Me too!" Hyunjin.

Minho is going insane, Jeongin's touches light and teasing as he explores the omega's newly unveiled skin.

"Oh look at you, pretty everywhere. You wax, baby? That's so cute."

Minho bends his back even more and plants his face right between Chan's spread legs, hoping the sheets will cover his blushing ears. Judging by Felix's fond laugh and the hand rubbing the tip of his right ear, it's a failed attempt.

Jeongin hums, running his hand up and down the curve of Minho's back, before using both of his hands to spread his ass and Minho is half a second away from crumbling to dust.

"You're sopping wet. Our very own orange syrup dispenser."

Minho's about to tell him off, Seungmin's cackle echoing in the background, when Jeongin pushes inside. His cock is decently sized, long but not as thick, yet it stretches Minho way more than any of his heat toys have. He huffs a breath as the pressure grows and he's forced to get used to it. The excessive slick helps, and the way his muscles relax immediately does as well. Minho's brows pull together when Jeongin, with a last push, fills him up to the hilt. The breath is punched out of his chest.

His eyes are closed but he feels someone place little kisses on his shoulders, and another tug on his hair. When he opens his eyes he meets Jisung's, who's kneeling next to him in all of his glory. Minho opens his mouth and Jeongin uses that moment to pull out and push back in, a smoother slide, punching another soft grunt out of Minho.

The omega tries burying his face back in the sheets when Jisung's hand stops him.

The alpha pulls his face closer, into a deep kiss, licking into Minho's open mouth whenever Jeongin thrusts, stealing the omega's breath over and over again. Another set of hands, big, trail over his arms, chest and then neglected dick. Minho's insides burn, his outsides burn too. He's feverish.

Jisung pulls away and watches him, and Minho knows he's a looker right now, with his dark empty eyes and kissed mouth. The alpha tucks a strand of damp hair behind his ears and kisses down his jaw, as Jeongin starts changing angles, aiming to find a spot that will ruin Minho completely.

"Watch Hyunie, baby. He's gonna make you feel good."

Minho's eyebrows furrow, confused, and he lifts his head up, shaky as Jeongin's unrelenting pace pulls more and more noises from him, embarrassing noises he can't hold off anymore. Felix and Chan are watching him, getting each other off with their hands, leisurely, as if they're just waiting to pounce. Seungmin is making out with Changbin, letting the bigger alpha manhandle him on his back. Jisung is sitting right next to Minho's head and Hyunjin is-

Hyunjin is kneeling under Minho, hands rubbing his arms and chest.

"H- Hyunie?"

Hyunjin looks up and lowers his face towards Minho's crotch and the omega has two seconds before he feels the alpha's lips wrap around him. He yelps, lifting himself up and away, instinctually, in a half bent position with Jeongin holding him up with an arm around his chest, and looks down at Hyunjin.

"Doesn't he look good like that?"

Jeongin's back to whispering filth in his ears, one arm around Minho and the other gripping his waist, fucking into him like it's the last thing he'll ever do. Droplets of Jeongin's sweat fall down his face and slide down Minho's back. He's so sensitive he feels every single drop.

He's delirious, stuck on trying to hang onto his sanity or watch everyone else. His eyes stray towards the head of the bed and he sees Seungmin doing something to Changbin's chest, face hidden from the view, when he looks slightly to the right he sees Felix and Jisung making out with Chan prepping the both of them, hands dripping lube.

"Aren't they pretty too? Does omega wanna fuck our pretty alphas? Maybe Lixie first hm? He likes it a little painful, and takes it the best. And you're pretty big, aren't you?"

Jeongin grips a pec and squeezes it tight, changing the angle of his thrusts. Minho looks down and has half the mind to run a praising hand through Hyunjin's hair, whimpering at the way his eyes sparkle from this angle. Hyunjin only doubles down, pushing himself until all of Minho is down his throat, swallowing around him. Simultaneously, Jeongin's angle changes seem to bear results, as he hits Minho's prostate dead on.

He's cumming before he can warn either of them, hands on Hyunjin's shoulders as he shudders and gasps through it, bursts of colors behind tightly closed eyes. Suddenly Jeongin's hand is in front of his face and the scent gland on his wrist awakens Minho's omega.

He sinks his teeth in it and keeps Jeongin locked in a bite until the younger alpha follows after him, filling Minho up to the brim. As soon as Minho lets go of the bite, licking it clean, Hyunjin pulls him down to the floor, pressing needy kisses to his lips. Jeongin goes down with him, leaning heavily against his back while he waits his knot out, hand wrapped tight around it, having pulled out at the last second.

"Omega please-!"

Minho wraps a hand around Hyunjin, sweet needy Hyunjin, and uses his own slick for a smoother slide, watching the pretty alpha fall apart. He's still recovering from his orgasm, little shocks traveling through his body, but his omega is set on getting every single one of them off so he tightens the grip of his hand, spits on Hyunjin's cock and swipes his thumb over the head of it.

Not even five strokes later the alpha's back bows and he cums all over Minho's hand, chest and neck with a pretty whine. Minho settles for the soft skin of his stomach to bite into, marking Hyunjin as his too. There's a link forming between him, Hyunjin and Jeongin and he's almost frantic to bite everyone else as soon as he can, the thrum of it addicting.

Jeongin and Hyunjin settle to lean against the bed, popping their knots into each other's hands, while they watch the others, too tired to keep going for now. Minho's pulled backwards into a lap, thick and full, and his head is pulled to the side to kiss the owner of it, Changbin.

The alpha's dick finds its way inside him and something else finds its way on Minho's. He breaks off from the kiss, whimpering from oversensitivity as Felix sits on his cock while Changbin pulls him down on his own. Minho's eyes roll back, much to Felix's amusement, who leans down and latches his mouth on the omega's neck, suckling against his scent gland.

Changbin rocks Minho back and forth, allowing the force of Felix riding him to guide him between the two bodies. Minho's thoroughly fucked, on both sides.

He's losing himself into it, able only to whimper and groan, mouth open and brows furrowed, when Felix grabs his chin and lowers himself fully in Minho's lap, moaning in his gorgeous deep voice. Minho's chest expands tenfold when the alpha's plush lips open wide.


"Spit in my mouth. Claim me."


Changbin's rutting stutters in its pace, visibly affected by Felix's words himself. While Minho just blinks himself back to reality, ears buzzing and skin tingling all over. He leans over and spits right in the alpha's mouth, watching him moan and swallow, before pressing their mouths together.

They breathe more than they kiss, whining into each other's mouths as they both get closer and closer to the edge. Minho yelps as Changbin pops his knot, the feeling of it stretching him out pushing him into a second orgasm. Felix follows through, squeezing tight around Minho until he's teary eyed.

He bites Felix where his neck meets his shoulder, marking him like traditional alphas used to mark their omegas. Felix slumps on top of him and refuses to let him go until Changbin's knot goes down.

When Felix is pulled away by a sleepy Hyunjin, Minho finally bites Changbin, shaky on his knees, cum running down his thighs. The alpha squirms through it, the bite close to one of his pecks, and Minho kisses it better until Changbin whines and gently pushes him away.

He feels out of his mind when a pair of strong arms pull him away from Changbin's chest, making him whine and pout. His gums hurt and his canines are still pointed, omega fronting to the fullest of its ability. Minho's still present, but barely, blinking in a daze as the world spins around him.

A soft voice shushes him as he's laid on the bed and spread open. Seungmin lays to his left, tracing soft circles into Minho's leg, inner thigh and then hip, while Chan settles between Minho's legs.

"It's okay baby, you're safe with us. Me and Seungmin are gonna take care of you omega. Nod if you understand."

Minho's head, filled with cotton, bounces up and down twice, and then he's drowning again, Chan all over inside and above him.

Everything from that point onwards is a blur. He feels the thickness of Chan inside him and then learns the insides of Seungmin's mouth. He can only hear the blood rushing to his head and his own moans and groans, noises he'd never make out of heat. Seungmin's cock is at one point in his mouth and Minho has to be told not to bite him, too out of it, letting him use his face like a good omega.

Hands are everywhere, wet kisses pressed to his thighs, chest, throat. He bites Seungmin's inner thigh and forces a second, weaker, orgasm out of the alpha, leaving him shaky and spent.

Chan makes what could only be love to him slow and careful as Jisung, needily, takes a seat in Minho's lap, back to Chan's chest. He grips both of their cocks together into a fist and fucks into it slowly. Minho's losing breath, the air in the room hot and damp and scented to atoms. The pack is everywhere around him, literally and figuratively.

Jisung cums pretty much all over Minho's chest, licking it clean right after while the omega brings Chan to completion. With Jisung still between them, he pulls the eldest alpha close and bites behind his ear, purring when the pup just deflates, knot stretching Minho anew.

Jisung whines until Minho pulls his teeth out of Chan and sinks them into Jisung, right under his heart shaped Adam's apple. He knocks out right after that.







Three days later he wakes up to a clean room, window half open to let the late summer breeze in, curtains pulled close. He stretches and curses when his back throbs painfully. His whole body, for that matter, feels like it's been run over by a train.

Oh.

Oh well, a train of alphas, most definitely.


He rolls over and checks his phone, seeing no message from anybody. Weird, it's still so early. Did everybody just leave?

Getting up is a chore, his legs weak and shaky. How's he gonna show his face at work tomorrow, limping like that? Before he can overthink things any longer, he notices that he's wearing a clean change of clothes, and that the room doesn't smell of heat or any other bodily functions.

He's walking downstairs, gripping the rail, when he walks into the coziest scene this house has seen yet. Four of the alphas are knocked out cold on the couch and armchairs, snoring softly, as three others putter about, talking in quiet voices.
Felix is teaching a sleepy Hyunjin how to properly pinch a dumpling, while a scrunkly looking Seungmin cuts up vegetables. As soon as Minho walks in, Hyunjin drops everything, much to Felix's displeasure, and runs to him, hugging his chest by making himself smaller against Minho.

Minho smiles and kisses the top of his head. Nice smelling head.

"When did you guys manage to clean everything and take a shower?"

Felix waves a knife around, grin bright enough to rival the sun. Seungmin takes the knife away from him with a side eye.

"Oh well. Your heat broke yesterday night and you kinda went into hibernation for a minute there. Chan cleaned you up and then we all took charge of different chores. There's seven of us, it took like fifteen minutes. I'm making dumpling soup now, wanna help?"

Minho agrees and has to drag a clingy Hyunjin with him, letting him hang off of him while they finish cooking.

The others take their time smacking little kisses all over his face once they wake up, not even the slightest bit affected by him threatening them with a knife or a fist. Chan even gets this weird little loving glint in his eyes when Minho does it.

They're sitting at the table, eating, with Minho watching all of them. They fit the number of chairs around his table. And if they slept four per king bed, cozy and tight, they'd probably fit in Minho's two bedrooms too.

"I have the permit to extend my house into my backyard."

The entire little group quiets down and turns to him, confused.

Seungmin looks around before offering Minho a confused smile.

"That's great!"

Changbin snorts and Chan kicks him under the table, very much obvious to everyone's eyes.

Minho only plumps himself up with another dumpling, chewing while he stirs the soup with his spoon, aiming for casual and uncaring.

"That means more rooms. More rooms for more people. People I've mated."

Felix is the first one to get it, his own spoon dropping on the floor with a clank. He shoots out of his seat, followed by an equally shocked Hyunjin, whose pretty eyes search Minho's.

"You want us to move in with you?"

The table breaks into chaos, everybody trying to speak over the other, some of them banging their empty bowls on the table in a weird celebratory hymn.

"Only after we're done building the extension of course, and after all of you finish uni. I won't be very pleased if you'll bring random unmated omegas into my home."

Jisung gasps and disappears from sight, crawling under the table and hugging Minho's waist when he's right under him. Minho pretends the silly little display doesn't give him butterflies.

"My babyyyyy~ I wondered why Channie told me to talk to you a few days ago on the phone. I was so out of my mind worried about your heat that I forgot to ask. Is this what this was about? I promise those were just my classmates, love. We had a project together and I had the biggest place of them all, I didn't wanna be stuck in a closed space with other omegas. I'm sorry I forgot to warn you beforehand. I know how rude that is towards an omega we were courting."

Minho leans down and shuts him up with a kiss before Jisung can talk himself into a cry fest, his round cheeks already fluffy and eyes pink from sleep. Minho wouldn't be able to handle him crying.

"It's okay. You're mine now, all of you. I don't care who you hang out with anymore because they'll always smell me on you."

He sips his tea quietly, enjoying the giddy expressions on everyone's faces.

Chan kisses his forehead in passing and grins, fondness pouring out of him as if it's unlimited. Maybe it is.

"As you say, pack luna."



Maybe, moving into a frat neighborhood wasn't so bad afterall.