Chapter Text
Kun’s dorm was just the one room, with a small bed tucked in the corner, a kitchen table that doubled as a desk, a small stove, a mini-fridge, and a microwave. Kun helped him out of his coat and navigated him to his bed, where he laid him out there. He followed, settled himself half over Ten, snuggling his face in his throat. He situated himself until his mouth was leveled with Ten’s scent gland, snaked an arm around the omega’s middle, and hiked up a leg on his hip. Ten welcomed the weight and warmth of his body like an anchor.
He didn’t know how long they stayed there, only that he dozed off and woke up back again to Kun leaving small, butterfly kisses on his neck. He felt content for the first time in weeks and would have remained there if it wasn’t for the elephant in the room.
“Kun?” asked Ten, voice cracking slightly from misuse.
Kun brought his head back just a little bit to look up at Ten. “Yes?”
“I think maybe we should talk?”
He felt Kun inhale and exhale deeply. “Yeah, maybe we should.” A pair of lips came back to his neck, leaving a few light kisses in its wake before Kun pulled back and rolled on his side. Ten turned to face Kun.
“I’m sorry,” started Kun, “for the scene I caused.”
“You don’t need to apologize…” whispered Ten but Kun shook his head.
“I do. I didn’t mean to lose my temper like this. And in front of everyone, too.” Kun bit his lips, the picture of guilt.
“Thank you for apologizing. But there’s no need. I understand.”
“You do?” asked Kun, looking unsure.
“I think I do, yes,” answered Ten carefully. “If Sicheng asked you out like this, in front of me, I would have lost it, too.”
Kun’s gaze traveled up and down his face, tracing his features. “It’s more than that, though,” he said finally. “Ten, I should have been upfront with you. I should have… I should have done so many things differently.” He sighed deeply. “The reason I asked you earlier if we could talk in private was that I needed to make amends. I needed to fix things.”
“Fix things?” asked Ten, voice sounding small to his own ears. He had no clue where Kun was going with his explanation, and he could feel the fear in his stomach rising in his throat.
“Yeah.” Kun looked scared too, like he was about to say something that he would regret. “I didn’t like you when we were kids.”
Ten huffed an anxious laugh. “What?”
“I thought you were the worse. You were so loud. You used to play pranks on me and everyone.”
“Where are you going with this?” Ten was confused and felt like he could cry at any moment. He wanted Kun’s hands back on him, the feeling of his mouth on his throat. He didn’t want this.
“And in high school, we started to hang out together because of Sicheng and Yukhei and the others. I remember the year, Ten, the year you got really pretty. You were in the dance club with Yukhei, and I don’t know what happened but you got so pretty. We were fifteen at the time. You grew your hair longer, and you lost your baby fat in your cheeks and I thought you were so stunning. I hated it so much already, that you could be funny, and playful, and loved by everyone. So when you got pretty? God, I didn’t know what to do with myself.”
Ten was stunned silent by the confession. He knew he was gawking at Kun, unable to think of a single reply.
“We got closer though. I think being just the two of us at university helped? We had no one else. In retrospect, I should have gone after you then, but I think I never really thought you would see me that way, you know?”
Ten had no clue. No clue Kun ever thought of him this way. “You were the one dating around,” blurted Ten. He almost slapped a hand against his own mouth at the accusation.
Kun chuckled. “Yeah. I mean, I was surprised at the attention, but it helped boost my confidence.”
“I didn’t,” replied Ten, darkly. “I didn’t date around.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” asked Kun, quirking an eyebrow at him.
“Just that I didn’t date around. You got popular, and you flirted with the prettiest boys and girls on campus.”
“Yeah?” prompted Kun, looking lost.
“Not me, though."
It seemed to take a while for Kun to process what Ten was telling him. “Are you mad? That I dated around?”
Ten huffed. “I’m not mad that you dated. What I’m saying is, why not me?”
It was Kun’s turn to look stunned. “I just told you. I didn’t think you saw me that way,” he said in the softest voice.
Ten turned around on his back, thoroughly annoyed.
“Did you?” insisted Kun. “See me that way?”
“I spent my heat with you. I’m lying in bed with you right now…”
“Yeah, I mean things changed when we presented. I noticed that. But I thought it might just be the hormones...”
“The hormones?” Ten exclaimed. He sat up, scooted to get out of bed.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Two strong arms took him, brought him back against a broad chest.
“I’m mad, let me go.”
“No. We’re talking this through.”
“No, we’re not,” replied Ten, trying in vain to shake the alpha off.
“Yes, we are. I think it’s time. I think we’ve left too many things unsaid until now.” Ten stopped fighting Kun’s hold, let the man bring him even closer still. “So it wasn’t the hormones? It wasn’t you and I presenting?” he asked quietly as if he was scared of the answer.
“I mean…” Ten pondered how to answer the question for a few seconds. “Presenting did trigger something, right? But no, it wasn’t just that. I was attracted to you before that.”
A nose came to rest against the back of his neck, and Ten shivered. “Why didn’t you say anything?” Kun sounded pained.
Ten laughed. “I thought you didn’t see me that way.”
Kun wrapped his arms around him, rocked their bodies softly from side to side. “If I’d known…"
Ten hummed.
“You know earlier, at the coffee shop when I asked to talk to you?” suddenly asked Kun.
Ten nodded, knowing Kun would feel the gesture where he was pressed against him.
“I wanted to ask you permission to court you.”
Ten thought his heart stopped beating for a second. He gasped loudly, turned around in Kun’s arms. “What?”
“I want to court you,” repeated the alpha, taking his face in both hands.
Ten’s mind was reeling. Kun couldn’t possibly… Did he really… Did it mean that… “You want me as a mate?”
The sweetest, broadest smile etched itself on Kun’s face. His cheeks dusted red but he held the omega’s gaze as he answered. “Yes, I think that’s what I want.”
Ten had no clue where the tears came from, only that he felt a few drops run down his face. Kun shushed softly, wiping at them with a thumb. Ten was half out of his mind when he lunged forward, bringing their mouths together. He couldn’t think of anything else he needed in that moment except for Kun. The alpha let himself be kissed, let Ten paw at his face for a few moments before he withdrew.
“I need words, Ten. Is that a yes?”
Ten gave him another long kiss and pulled back. “Don’t you need my parents’ permission? And your parents’ permission?”
“I kinda need your permission first.”
Ten laughed, bridged the space between them again for another brief kiss. “Yes. You have my permission.”
Kun pressed him hard against his chest, kissed him deeply. “Good. That’s very good.”
Ten shut him up with a kiss, and they kissed like this, plastered against each other, for a while. When Ten pulled away, lips swollen and red, he couldn’t help but send a teasing grin to Kun.
“Was it Yukhei who made you want to do this? When he talked about how his wolf liked the smell of mine the other day?”
Kun closed his eyes, a look of pain on his face. “Please don’t bring this up.”
“You’re the one who said we needed to talk things through.”
Kun sighed, blinked his eyes open. “I told you, I’ve known I wanted you for a while. Then, things got precipitated when you presented in my arms. But even then, when you flirted back, when you gave me your t-shirt before my rut, when you asked to be scented, I thought maybe it was just pheromones? But things got… complicated-”
Ten snorted at that.
“-and leaving you that morning, after your heat, that was the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do in my life. I was trying to understand how to go from there, what you wanted, when Yukhei decided to ruin everything.”
Ten hummed, bringing Kun’s face back into his neck, letting him breathe there for a while. “I would never have said yes. You know that, right? He’s like my little brother.”
“Sure,” replied Kun, sounding thoroughly unconvinced.
“Too late for him now anyway. I’m a courted omega.”
Kun straightened up, looked at him in the eyes with one of the most loving expressions Ten had ever seen on him.
“Yeah. You’re mine now.”
Ten stayed over at Kun’s place that night, reveling in the rich smell of his sheets, writhing under the alpha as he slowly mapped his body with his hands and mouth. He could get used to this, he thought, as he fell asleep in Kun’s arms that night.
He would get used to this.
When they saw their friends next, Ten started by announcing that Kun was courting him. It did not seem to come as a shock to anyone in the group. After all, they had all witnessed the scene a few days back and pieced the story together. They were heartily congratulated by everyone around the table. The first one to get up and hug Kun tight was Yukhei himself.
“I’m so sorry, man! I had no clue. You know I would never have asked Ten out if I knew you guys were together, right?”
Kun clapped him on his back, laughter bubbling out of him. “Sorry for the way I acted. We were just figuring things out, and I guess I got really scared you’d swoop in and take him away from me.”
“Aww,” cooed the other alpha. “Didn’t know I presented such good competition.”
Kun pushed him away with a laugh, while Ten rolled his eyes. “You didn’t,” he said with a shrug.
He saw Kun turn to him with sparkling eyes, reaching out to take his hand. They’d barely left each other’s side, clearly needing the reassurance of each other’s presence to settle both their nerves. The next few days would be trying. Kun still needed to get his parents’ approval, and Ten’s parents’ approval, and initiate the formalities of courting.
But as long as Ten had Kun by his side, the softness of his kisses on his neck, and the warmth of his presence next to him, Ten knew the best was yet to come.