Chapter Text
"Soonyoung... Soonyoung..."
The call was distant, from behind a closed door, but Soonyoung roused quickly from his slumber.
"Soonyoung..." A whimper followed his name, and his heart ached at the pain in the voice.
Soonyoung threw his thin blanket off as he leapt from the couch, plodded towards his room and rubbed his eyes to feel more awake. He knocked at the door and opened it slowly, and only entered when he heard Jihoon say his name again.
He inhaled deeply to gauge how his friend was doing. He couldn't detect any trace of the sweet rose water accent to Jihoon's scent in the room, only the bland milk chocolate aroma filled the space; it was muted and slightly bitter, reflecting Jihoon's discomfort.
Soonyoung padded over to sit on his chair, wheeling it closer to the bed. Jihoon's eyes flashed open as the chair creaked, and his dilated pupils shrunk back to normal, his breathing calming at Soonyoung's presence.
Soonyoung began purposefully scenting the room with hints of pine needles, more pungent than Jihoon's chocolate, transforming the air in the room from stifling to fresh.
"Thanks," Jihoon said, noticing the shift in the air immediately, before a whine escaped, and he grimaced clutching his blanket tightly for a moment. Soonyoung set a hand on the blanket close by, and Jihoon reached over to hold it loosely, his fingers curling around Soonyoung's.
"The cramps just started ?" Soonyoung asked, patting and rubbing the top of Jihoon's hand with his thumb.
Jihoon nodded, a miserable pout and downcast look on his face. His scent spiked for a second, there was no discernable flavour to it, just something that denoted pain, Soonyoung winced. He ran through ideas in his head, wondering how he could help.
Soonyoung slid his hand out of Jihoon's carefully, the omega widened his eyes and turned his head in question.
"I'll be three minutes. Just going to the kitchen, okay. Hot chocolate or coffee ?"
Soonyoung took off his jumper while Jihoon decided, and handed it to him, so his scent would remain in the room while he was gone. He hated leaving Jihoon when he'd called for him, but it was necessary sometimes. Leaving something freshly smelling of him made these short absences more comfortable for Jihoon.
"Tea. Please," Jihoon said, his eyebrows falling in anticipation of Soonyoung leaving the room. The feeling of walking away during Jihoon's heats always left Soonyoung short of breath and his muscles spasmed sharply; his body giving a clear message that something was wrong. Then there was the after shock, mentally, of knowing Jihoon had felt it too.
They've joked before about their alpha and omega reactions being ridiculously intense, despite not being mated or anything other than friends. Not spending as much time together would probably let the sensation fade, but they were content to deal with it for the time being.
Jihoon has confided in him, that he worries how severe the reaction would be if he was ever mated to someone. Soonyoung doesn't like to think about that, he doesn't ever want Jihoon to be hurt; the occasional time he needs to leave Jihoon make him feel hugely worried and guilty.
Soonyoung left the room, the shock of leaving zipped through his core, contracting his muscles, making him bend and grit his teeth. That wave of shock must pale in comparison to what Jihoon was going through with the heat, so he hurried on to the kitchen.
In his determined haste, he doesn't hear the quiet, "Soonyoung..." trying to call him back; the sound dampened by the door pulled almost shut to keep the warmth in.
Soonyoung was at the counter, sloshing water around the sink as he filled the kettle, placed it on its base, and clicked the button to boil the water. He pulled out Jihoon's cup and the tea leaves and herbs; he was still no expert at preparing this stuff, but he'd had enough practice to make it palatable, having roomed with Jihoon for over a year now.
Jihoon had refused to change rooms the two times the other members happily shuffled themselves around the dorms; Soonyoung couldn't stop laughing the first time it happened; with Jihoon, his small frame blocking the door to their two bedroom apartment, growling at Jun and Joshua to fuck off somewhere else, cause he thought the whole moving around thing was stupid. They both laughed at his seriousness and Soonyoung had to poke his head out the door where Jihoon was still planted, and called out an apology on his behalf.
Jihoon clearly couldn't deal with change, and his anger at situations like that was hilarious to Soonyoung. He was happy too though, Jihoon was his favourite roommate so far, despite the numerous rotations in living quarters he'd gone through. Jihoon hadn't said anything either way about Soonyoung changing rooms, but he could tell from his silence about the topic that he'd rather if he stayed too.
He pulled out Jihoon's favourite chocolate bar, weirdly enough it was the flavour that matched his scent, and he pulled just three squares from the packet; too much sugar in the middle of his heats made Jihoon feel sick, but having a little was important and improved his mood.
Soonyoung stuck one of the squares in his mouth, humming at the taste that Jihoon had somehow got him to appreciate, after trying it so many times.
He crouched down and swung open a cupboard, sticking his hand in to pull out a hot water bottle, clothed by a tiger character; it was his of course, but Jihoon used it more often than he did.
He unscrewed the cork from the top and poured boiling water until it was half full, squeezing it to get the air out as he tightened the cork in again. He turned it upside down and shook it over the sink to make sure it was safe to use, and tucked it under his arm to carry. He grabbed the cup and chocolate and made his way back to his room.
He pushed open the door with his shoulder, and Jihoon's scent was less intense than earlier. He was sitting up in the bed, Soonyoung's jumper pulled over him, the sleeves falling over his shoulders as if it were giving him a hug. His face brightened as Soonyoung appeared, but his voice had a snarky time when he said, "Took you 4 minutes 10 seconds," he showed the timer open on his phone, "I thought you'd died or something."
Soonyoung laughed, his tongue playing with the chocolate in his mouth, and he wondered what had made Jihoon calm down enough to joke like that. It was a relief.
He would've rolled his eyes at the joke too, but he was distracted by a wave of calm eminating from his heart as he returned. It was as if he'd taken a deep yawn, the breath traveling in comforting waves as far as his toes, and his mind felt more alert afterwards.
Leaving Jihoon at these times was uncomfortable, but sometimes the effects of returning made the trips feel worth it.
Soonyoung set the cup and chocolate on Jihoon's bedside table, and lifted the hot water bottle to Jihoon's hands.
"Oh, thank you. I always forget to use that," he said, holding it between his palms for a second to sense the temperature before lifting the bottom of his shirt to tuck the tiger against his stomach.
The brief shifting of blanket and cloth let a sweet sugary aroma whaft between them, it was faint and quickly covered by Jihoon's natural scent, but it still piqued Soonyoung's interest. It must've been some kind of pheromone Jihoon couldn't control, so he decided not to mention it.
Jihoon's lips twitched into a smile when the tiger shared it's firey heat, a stronger twist of rose water gave life to his constant smell of chocolate; a touch of sweetness had returned, meaning Soonyoung's managed to make him feel better.
Soonyoung relaxed when he saw the smile. He sat again and lifted the cup by its rim, with the handle pointing to Jihoon, and he gave a whisper of, "Hey."
Jihoon looked over and accepted the cup with a thanks, blowing on the tea and dipping a finger in to see if it's cooled enough to drink. Which of course it has since Soonyoung checked before bringing it in. He took a generous gulp, a droplet of the pink liquid rolled down to his chin tickling him. He held the cup in one hand and wiped the drop onto the back of his hand.
Soonyoung hadn't seen him smile this brightly in at least a week, his heat having only started two nights ago. He's really grateful he gets to lift Jihoon's mood this way, nothing makes him feel better than moments like these, Jihoon's eyes thanking him and his scent turning sweet again.
Soonyoung smiles back, feeling as though he's been rejuvenated too.
Soonyoung picked up the chocolate and broke the squares apart, and offered one to Jihoon.
Instead of taking it with his free hand, Jihoon leaned across the bed onto his elbow and gobbled it from Soonyoung's fingers and they both laughed, "Watch those teeth, Jihoonie !" Soonyoung scolded, pulling his hand back and putting on a terrified expression.
"Pfft, says the guy with literal fangs," Jihoon said, he bopped his head slightly as the chocolate melted in his mouth, and washed it down with some tea.
Soonyoung put on a wide smile, and pulled the corner of his mouth back to show part of his upper gum where one of his fangs was, "Aren't they cool ?"
"They're great. Fingers crossed you'll find an omega soon to use them on," Jihoon said, sticking out his tongue.
"Gross, leave me alone ! I'm way too busy to try looking for a relationship anyway."
"You're less busy than me, and even I make time for that," Jihoon laughed, "I'm telling Seungcheol so he'll set you up with someone."
"Not this again," Soonyoung slumped forward in the chair, resting his head on the bed, "If you do that I'll make him set the whole group up with dates, including you, and I'll tell them it's all your fault !"
"What're they gonna do ? Cry to me about it ? They're all fucking terrified of me Soonyoung, your plan is a total flop !" They both laugh out loud at his failed idea.
"Whatever I'll find some way to get my revenge, you better watch your back Jihoon," he feigns a threat, and looks up to see Jihoon with his lips pursed, his unfazed attitude apparent. He slurps down the rest of the tea and settles the cup carefully on Soonyoung's head.
It wobbled a bit, "Don't break my favourite cup, idiot," Jihoon smiled down at him, letting go of the handle and laughing at Soonyoung's shaky, frozen position.
He reaches a hand up slowly to hold it and brings it down to rock it in his arms, "I would never do such a thing. You better take care of my tiger in return."
"Huh ?" Jihoon said, confused.
Soonyoung reaches out to poke the hot water bottle covering his stomach, pressing into the softness, and squawks when Jihoon bats his hand away.
"Quit it !"
Something about the image makes his heart burn with happiness, and he wants to purr. He can't explain the strong emotion he feels, and he zips his lips shut to stop the noise from coming out but he tries to shrug it off as just having a fun time.
"I'll let you get some rest," Soonyoung said, and Jihoon scooted down the bed to lie again.
"Thanks for coming in, when I called," Jihoon said, his ears turning a little pink in embarassment, now that the pain had eased and he was feeling more himself again.
"Anytime," Soonyoung teased, looking into the empty cup in his hand, at the scattered pile of ingredients. He didn't want to embarrass Jihoon more by staring at him, even if he's cutest when acting shy.
"Shh," Jihoon said, and he pulled his blanket up to cover his red face. His scent dwindled until Soonyoung could barely sense it anymore, so without thinking he reached for the blanket between Jihoon's two hands and pulled it down to see his face again.
"Night, Soonyoung," Jihoon said, scowling at his big smile. He tries to pull the blanket up again after saying it but Soonyoung won't let him. His scent is sparkling with rose water, and it's making Soonyoung want to laugh out with happiness.
"Night, Jihoon," he replied soothingly, letting go of the blanket, hand brushing over Jihoon's before he went to the door and paused - making sure to fill the far side of the room with his calm scent for Jihoon to have in a few minutes after he's gone.
Soonyoung looked back to smile at him again, to see him once more before he left. Jihoon peaked out from his nest and blankets with a small smile, the happy rose water scent following Soonyoung all the way to the door.
The shock went through him again as he closed the door behind him, though it was significantly less sharp than it was earlier. He tried to breath again slowly as he walked away.
He goes back to the kitchen to clear away the mess he made, and plucks two water bottles from the fridge as he leaves. He put one at Jihoon's door, since he still had a full one inside, and took the other with him to the couch.
His room would be occupied for another day or so, and despite Jihoon insisting he didn't need to stay in Soonyoung's room, or saying Soonyoung could stay in his in the meantime, he always insisted that this was just fine.
Jihoon had a much easier time with heats when an alphas scent was all around him. He never cried of pain or frustration when he was there, unlike the few times Soonyoung had overheard him in his own room. His heart broke at the noise but Jihoon didn't want to see him or anyone else during those times.
The duration of his heat was also cut by almost an entire day, significant when he had work to do for tight deadlines and scheduled things to attend.
And overall Jihoon was happier, having the scent of an alpha laced in the pillow and sheets he nested in. Soonyoung was glad that Jihoon was somewhere he felt safe when he was so vulnerable.
And as for taking Jihoon's room, he wanted Jihoon to have his own space with only his scent if needed, just out of consideration. Jihoon told him he was being dramatic, but he didn't push Soonyoung to do anything either way, he respected his decision.
Despite their talks about finding mates in the future being mostly about complaining about the hassle, he did hope Jihoon would find someone he liked, and wanted to be with, sooner rather than later, so he wouldn't have to suffer through this every few weeks.
Soonyoung settled on the couch, which they'd upgraded a few months into rooming together, when they realised Jihoon taking his bed would happen quite often; so it was incredibly comfortable.
He felt his back un-tense as it got to stretch out flat, and felt himself sink into the material slowly, a smile tugged at his lips; his alpha side was satisfied after taking care of his friend, the rose water scent was still lingering on him for a while, and it calmed him a lot.
He had an early start in the morning, a lot scheduled, and of course he'd come to check on Jihoon once or twice during the day to make sure he's eaten and had enough to drink. He liked being busy, even if what he was most looking forward to tomorrow was seeing Jihoon during his breaks.
He eased into sleep, the rose water fragrance following him, conjuring up dreams of vibrant, flower meadows where he danced and relaxed; pink cloudless skies blanketed this world, and the beautiful flower patches were nestled in a forest of pine. Soonyoung was delirious with delight at being here, in a place that intensified his scent, and mixed it with something delicious.