Archive of Our Own ^beta

"I don't know man, I'm not really too sure why you're so okay with a mate who barely gives you affection-" changbin continued to drone on, shoveling food into his face.

"Binnie," his omega mate, Felix, warned, trying to shush him. His alpha was always bluntly outspoken, not in a bad way, but it has brought on touching sensitive topics to daily conversations sometimes. "Everyone is different. Just because I spoil you too much in public doesn't mean beomgyu requires the same treatment from his own mate." 

Beomgyu was only half listening, his mind somewhere else. 

Ok, I left him a few of my shirts to sleep in, and my pajamas pants, and my sweats for during the day. Also I think he has my sports shorts for when he works out, all with my scent heavy on it. 

"Uh-huh," he agreed, not even sure what was just said. 

Changbin shrugged. "Well, I'm not judging or whatever, but maybe you should talk to him? Let him know you want a little more public displays of affection? It can't be good for your alpha to go around without the scent of his mate. Shouldn't taehyun, I don't know, at least mark you a bit to let others know you're taken?" 

Beomgyu kicked out his legs from under the table, finishing up his lunch. "My alpha is perfectly fine, what do you mean?" He asked, confused. Shit, he wasn't paying attention enough to know how this conversation even started. 

He looked into himself, sensing his alpha deep in his conscious. The wolf was bored, lazily twitching his ears while also half-listening to the people around him and beomgyu. 

Yeah, his alpha was fine. In a calm but kind of depressed mood. The animal pettily refused to acknowledge beomgyu, with his back turned and his tail swishing every so often. He was upset because he and beomgyu have to leave their mate for a few days, not understanding that beomgyu needs to make a living for the both of them. He was an animal, and his animal instincts told him not to leave his precious omega for such a long period of time no matter what. 

I'll have to remember to stock the fridge with his favorite drinks, and fill the pantry with chocolates. That should tie him over for a little while, beomgyu continued to think.

Changbin huffed. "What I'm saying is, your omega barely accommodates you! I'm not saying he needs to be all mothering, but at least a peck on the cheek? Maybe a cuddle on your lap? Stuff like that."

"We hold hands though?" Beomgyu tilts his head, a few strands of his half tied hair slipping out from behind his ear. What was changbin going on about now? 

"Binnie-" Felix started again, this time more stern. Changbin lifted his hands up in surrender, minding his own business for once.

But it all landed on deaf ears, because it was time for beomgyu to go back to work. He smiled and bid them both goodbye, none the wiser. 

He made a pouting face as he walked down the halls back to his makeshift studio.

My regular soaps are in the shower, I made sure not to change my sheets or blankets, my playlists are logged in on his laptop-

"He's a lovesick fool, that one. I worry about him sometimes. I just hope he's happy with taehyun," changbin sighed, watching as beomgyu skipped happily out of the break room. 

"I don't know, if he's this happy then their relationship must be healthy, right?" Felix argued back. "I get the feeling we have nothing to worry about with them." 

Then once they were alone, Felix got up and walked around the table. He leaned down, gripping changbins chin and tilting his alpha's head up so they were making heated eye contact. He didn't waste a second to climb into changbins lap, smiling into a kiss. "Besides, not everybody needs constant undivided love and attention to be happy like you. I really do spoil you too much like the big baby you are." Then he playfully nipped changbins neck, right above his scent gland. Changbin growled, wrapping his arms around Felix's waist. 

"Im not a baby," he complained. But really, he was.

~

Beomgyu ran his hands down taehyun's arms, until he was gripping taehyun's fingertips gently. 

"I'll be back as soon as I can," he promised. 

Taehyun laughed lightly. "It's ok hyung, you don't need to worry so much about me. I'll be fine, you know that." 

Taehyun was mindful of the people around them. Unfortunately, beomgyu has to leave on a huge internship with yeonjun, changbin, Felix, and a few others for a week. They all worked at a major music company part time as interns while going to university, and this was a big deal for all of them. As excited as beomgyu was about this golden opportunity to open doors that otherwise would have been closed to him, he was still depressed he had to be away from taehyun for so long. His wolf was also equally not happy, swiping his claws at beomgyu for even considering leaving their mate all by himself. 

It was only a week, but to the animal it seemed like he was abandoning their omega. 

"I know, but I won't be," beomgyu whined cutely. He leaned in for a light hug, barely there, and then stepped back. 

Taehyun smiled, patting beomgyu's cheek to appease him. "The week will be over before you know it. Don't forget to learn lots, and wow everybody with your charms so that you can get job offers later." 

Beomgyu purred against his hand. "Ok," he whispered. "I'll make sure to text and call everyday. No matter how busy or tired I am," he nodded. 

Taehyun's heart swelled at the kind gesture. Beomgyu didn't have to do that, but he didn't argue against it. He knows how attentive beomgyu can be when they are away from each other, and learned in the past to just let it be. Plus, taehyun cherishes all of the extra care his mate puts into making sure he is comfortable, safe, and happy. He secretly loves it, and beomgyu knows it. 

"Come back soon," taehyun muttered quietly to only him, right before beomgyu climbed on the subway train that will take him out of the city and away from taehyun and his wolf. 

Beomgyu smiled, letting his fingertips linger on taehyuns skin for just a second longer, and then he was gone, the doors to the train shutting tight and taking off.

Taehyun sighed, turning to their friends. He put on a brave face and started to head back to his and beomgyu's apartment without a second glance. It was just a few days, and he internally told his omega to quit whining about it. They can get through this with no problems, just like all the other times beomgyu or him had to part briefly for some reason or another. 

Soobin looked like he just came back from war. His hair was tousled, his lips red and swollen, and his skin covered in fresh bite marks and hickeys. Yeonjun was very possessive of his mate, and suffered from some major undiagnosed separation anxiety. He was always very public about his love for soobin, and was unapologetic for it. Soobin was a patient mate who actually basked in the attention his alpha gave him, unashamed about yeonjun's physical love towards him in front of so many others.

Yeonjun is also on that train, which just leaves taehyun, soobin, and Kai to themselves for the next week. 

Taehyun hates to admit it, but it's going to be very quiet and lonely without beomgyu. And yeonjun, but he's mostly going to miss beomgyu for obvious reasons.

"Ugh, my omega is in shambles now that yeonjun is gone. It's almost painful," soobin frowned, wincing at his wolf, who was probably internally urging him to go back to his mate's side. "I wish he was more like your wolf, taehyunnie. My omega is much too needy and practically requires yeonjun's physical affection to survive on a daily basis. Sometimes being so connected with your wolf is tiresome."

Kai slapped soobin's back. "Not everybody has a hardass omega wolf like taehyun!" He laughed. "Time to toughen up, soobinnie hyung!" 

Taehyun was confused by what he meant. He figured it was just soobin being in a sour mood and pissy because he's away from yeonjun and his alpha. So he let it go.

~

Later that night, taehyun flicked on the lights to his apartment, sighing. The place seemed cold and lonely. He tried not to let the tears well up, immediately swiping them away before they could form on the bottoms of his lids. 

His omega was shuffling all over the place inside his mind, a bit antsy now that beomgyu was gone. He chastised himself and his wolf, forcing to get himself together and not think about it. There was no use in dwelling on it.

He padded over to the kitchen, opening the fridge to see what he could make for dinner. Then he smiled, and also sniffled, at what he saw on the top shelf. 

A dozen drinks, all taehyun's favorites, with a cute note in the center.

'Don't forget to stay hydrated! I'll be mad if you overwork yourself at the gym again!' read the note in beomgyu's perfect handwriting. When did his mate have time to do this? It wasn't there this morning before he left for his early morning workout. 

With shaky fingertips, he picked up the note and clung it to the magnet on the fridge door so he would see it every morning for the next week. 

And yeah, ok, a tear finally dropped. But before another one could fall, he sucked it back in and shut the fridge with his drink, cracking it open and chugging away the huge lump that was lodged in his throat.

This was stupid. Really, it was. But damn he missed beomgyu already and it's only been an hour. 

The loneliness without his mate brought his appetite way down. But still, beomgyu will scold him if he finds out taehyun skipped a meal. So he decided to make some simple fried rice and kimchi, opting it was better than having nothing in his stomach. 

After dinner, he went to study. He didn't really have a whole lot of homework to do, but anything to keep his mind busy was welcomed. 

When he couldn't do that anymore, he decided to shower. Which his omega frowned on since he will be washing away beomgyu's slightly lingering scent from their short hug earlier that day. 

Still, he needed to freshen up, so he headed to their bathroom and took out a towel.

While washing, he noticed there was a fresh bottle of beomgyu's shampoo and body wash waiting for him, and he used it without hesitation. It really didn't do much to placate the fact that this scent wasn't on the right person, and that there was still a gaping hole in his chest eating itself bigger the longer beomgyu was gone, but it did help a little.

Wrapped in a towel, he walked into his shared bedroom with beomgyu and went straight to beomgyu's dresser. He brought out a shirt and pajama pants and put them on. 

Then he climbed into the sheets on beomgyu's side of the bed and swaddled himself like a burrito in their blankets, breathing heavily into beomgyu's pillow. 

He brought his phone out, illuminating his face under the covers, and giggled when he saw beomgyu's text, just like he promised. 

He was sad beomgyu couldn't call him, having to pull an all nighter with the sunbaes in the studio, but he laughed quietly to himself reading beomgyu's extravagant miles long story about how he claimed he had to take a bathroom break so he could sneak his phone in the stall to text taehyun, but they wouldn't let him go, so then he made some very embarrassing excuse about having a bad reaction to the spicy tteokbokki from dinner and that he was going to have explosive shits if he didn't leave now, and taehyun should be grateful he has such a wonderful and innovative thinking mate who would shamelessly lie about having shitting problems just so he could text him this long ass message and wish him goodnight and how much he loves him. 

Taehyun sent back a series of 'i love you's' and how he will make it up to him when he comes home, rewarding him very generously. 

He fell asleep to beomgyu's message still open on his phone, until the light finally dimmed long after he was unconscious. 

The next morning he woke up to another text from beomgyu, whining and complaining about how taehyun can't just imply stuff like that and leave him hanging, and how he was going to escape back home and make them both feel good with long hours of sex. Who needs a future job anyways? 

Taehyun blushed, aroused at the thought of beomgyu's hands all over him, and instead sent back a stern text for him to focus on this internship. Then he made himself a protein shake, still not hungry from missing his mate, and grabbed his keys and gym bag and went to his early morning workout. Maybe all of the running will get his mind off of the fact that he wants beomgyu inside him so badly. 

~

"Hey hyung," taehyun greeted, his hair still damp from showering after the morning at the gym. He was wearing beomgyu's shirt underneath his hoodie, and beomgyu's sweats as well. But other people didn't need to know that.

Soobin grunted, not giving taehyun much more than that, and continued to sit there with a pissed off look on his face. His scent was also very sour, warding off anyone who wasn't close to him. So pretty much everyone except taehyun and hyuka. His wolf was not handling the separation from yeonjun very well it would seem.

This was to be expected though. Soobin and yeonjun were practically joined at the hip. 

Taehyun sat next to him quietly, getting his notes out for class. He suspects soobin will not be in the mood or right mindset to pay attention, so he will make sure to take good notes for the both of them. And he also let out a few calming pheromones from his omega as well, which seemed to help the other omega. It wasn't often taehyun did something like that, but anything for his best friends. 

Soobin was the embodiment of what an omega wolf should be, practically textbook definition of omega. He was soft, and mothering, and calm most of the time. He showers his alpha mate with love all times of the day, takes care of the rest of their friend group with a cloud of warm pheromones, and yeah- 

Taehyun on the other hand seems to go against everything an omega should be. In public, mostly. But beomgyu doesn't care about any of that. What taehyun lacks in public displays of affection, mostly because he's really shy and embarrassed about that kind of stuff in front of watchful people, he more than makes up for in the bedroom. Not that beomgyu expects him to, but man is it hard for taehyun to resist his incredibly sexy mate. Beomgyu never fails to get him horny.

Soobin relaxed the tiniest fraction, sending taehyun a grateful smile at the added help. 

"Thanks," he whispered. "I wish I was as strong minded as you. I'm just so needy with yeonjun, it's practically unhealthy." 

Taehyun furrowed his brows in confusion. "It's not unhealthy hyung. We both are going through a rough patch without our mates. That's just how it is," he shrugged. 

Still, throughout the classes and rest of the day, taehyun couldn't help but check his phone as often as he could, hoping for a text. 

~

The next day after that was probably the start of taehyun's dampening mood. He just didn't realize it until it was too late, much later of course.

It all started with a few off topic comments from classmates he works with when he's not sharing a class with soobin or hyuka. 

Just sort of personal stuff he didn't really want to talk about with anybody, and it wasn't their business either. 

They mentioned how he's so lucky to have a mate like beomgyu, which he agrees with, but the tone they said it in made him prickle with annoyance. They continued with going on and on about how caring and happy beomgyu was, helpful too, loved by all. He's super talented in music, and funny. All things taehyun already knows, obviously. This sort of negative behavior wasn't uncommon since everyone found out he was mated to beomgyu. The older boy was a campus crush, and taehyun got to claim the prize. It's to be expected; people can be petty and rude.

Then someone else throws in how beomgyu deserves someone who can love him as much as he loves others. He needs an omega who will go to the ends of the world for him and not be afraid to show it. 

Which eventually led to the personal questions, such as how their mating went, did taehyun claim him with a bite mark, how come they never see taehyun kiss him on the lips or rub his scent all over beomgyu during the day. Taehyun just shrugged and left politely as soon as he could. He didn't need to involve himself with that kind of atmosphere.

Why are they so obsessed with his private relationship with beomgyu anyways? Do they want him to go into very personal details about how beomgyu presses him deeply into the mattress almost every night? Why the hell would he tell random strangers stuff like that? Hell, he doesn't even mention it to soobin and the others!! That's something between him and his mate only.

He locked himself in a bathroom stall and brought out his phone, hoping to see a text from beomgyu. 

His heart dipped when there were no new messages. Not that he realistically expected any, since it's only been like two hours since beomgyu managed to send his last message. They were strict about no phone use at the studios. 

Taehyun sighed, putting his phone away. And with a heavy heart and his scent just slightly less sweet than it was right after beomgyu left, he exited the bathroom and continued on with his day. 

~

Taehyun didn't feel like eating at all later that day. He pushed his food around his plate, slightly aware of the worried glances soobin and Kai gave him. 

But for the most part, taehyun seemed ok in their eyes, and he was just a little quieter than usual. Nothing to worry about.

Still, taehyun couldn't help but think maybe those other classmates were right. Is he really such a let down as a mate? Soobin was covered in slightly fading marks from yeonjun, whereas taehyun didn't sport anything visible. He was too shy to let beomgyu mark him up right there in the middle of the train station for everyone to see. He much preferred being locked away behind their closed door, where beomgyu could undress him until there was nothing left and taehyun could be as loud and vocal as he wanted without worrying about anyone hearing him. Only beomgyu gets to hear the desperate whimpers and begs that escapes his lips while he lets his alpha mark every inch of skin that could be well covered with clothes. 

But maybe it was secretly hurting beomgyu for his omega mate to walk around without anything visible on his skin to showcase. Maybe taehyun was being unreasonable and inconsiderate towards his mate. Beomgyu would never say if he was bothered by it, so all this time he could have been upset or disappointed in taehyun. 

He ended lunch and finished his classes, all while his mind was racing and rethinking everything about his and beomgyu's relationship. He knows those people were just being rude and that he should ignore what other people think or say, but he had to be sure. He had to reflect on himself to be positive he wasn't missing something others were seeing. 

So he went home that night, three days after beomgyu left, with his scent even more sour than ever. 

~

Taehyun didn't feel like working out today. He just wanted to lay in his bed, surround himself in all of beomgyu's stuff, and pretend he doesn't have a million things to worry about for his classes. 

He cried a little last night, just a little. Beomgyu sent him some selca pictures, reminding him to eat well and stay hydrated. 

Taehyun felt guilty that he skipped dinner, so he walked to the pantry and cried again when he saw all of his favorite chocolates lined up with another cute note attached to them. 

Sniffling, he took a handful of them, plus a flavored drink from the fridge, and walked back to the comfort of his makeshift fort built of beomgyu's hoodies and shirts. The scent was dying off of his pillow, and no longer lingering on the blanket, so he had to improvise. The shampoo and body washes were no longer helping as well. 

Just three more days, he tried to tell himself. He and his wolf can make it through that long. They've been doing so well, and beomgyu would be so proud of them when he came back. 

Washing his face before he got dressed, he noticed the dark circles under his eyes. He splashed more cold water on his face and lectured himself to keep going. He was just making his mood worse by dwelling on these stupid things.

~

However, it would seem the world was against taehyun in this particular week.

Not only was his mate obviously gone, but he got his results back for a major exam he took two weeks ago. And it wasn't good. 

In fact, the score was embarrassingly bad which was unlike him. He normally does pretty well on all his schoolwork, not perfect but he's better than most of his classmates. 

It's just, this exam was a particularly bad one, and he took it while he was running a high fever and extremely sick. On top of that, his heat was approaching around that time, which just added to the headaches making him barely functional. Beomgyu told him not to stay up endless nights studying and trying to juggle all the other extracurricular activities he was involved in. His mate told him to eat something more nutritional than chocolate and caramel macchiatos.

But taehyun didn't listen. Still, beomgyu tried one last time to convince him to at least stop studying and go to bed early the night before the exam; get at least one good night's sleep to help him the next morning. And...again, taehyun didn't listen. His motto was he'd rather sacrifice sleep and read through his notes and chapters at least once rather than get plenty of sleep and go into the exam knowing absolutely nothing. He could at least get half the questions right rather than get them all wrong.

He went into the exam, sick, tired, loss of appetite from stress, having a fever he refused to acknowledge, headaches beyond belief, and his heat approaching a few days later which started to make his joints ache.

Well, in the end his plan worked, and he got half the questions right. But a 53% was still a fail, and his grade is going to plummet now. 

Taehyun stared at the marks on his exam paper, and his eyes began to water. He shouldn't be so upset about this, these things happen. Sometimes failing an exam happens, and you just have to keep going. Keep trying your best, not beat yourself up over it. 

But he's stressed, ok? Normally he would have beomgyu as a buffer in a situation like this. He would calmly file the exam results away, and go home that day and collapse in beomgyu's arms, and complain about how much he hated that class. And beomgyu would pat his hair and agree that the professor is a dick for making the exam so hard on topics he didn't even teach, and then they would order junk food and watch tv, and have lots of sex. And taehyun would feel better with more motivation to try harder the next time.

It worked like that for both of them, but beomgyu was much more dramatic. Either way, they were there for each other and everything was alright.

But beomgyu is away right now, and taehyun didn't want to bother him or distract him from his internship. He will bottle up the feelings and tell him all about it when he comes home at the end of this week. He's almost there. Just a little longer. 

Except, his professor called him into office hours and told him he would need to go to tutoring for a few weeks until finals. Every student that gets lower than a 70% on an exam is forced to attend tutorials. 

And now taehyun has another added thing to his schedule, and he still has to attend organizational events, and study for another stupid quiz their other professor popped up on them today, and he barely knows that material, and-

Swallowing the lump in his throat and blinking away the sting behind his eyes, he decided to skip his afternoon classes and just go home. He knows he's getting all worked up and needs to take a breather.

Still, it didn't help that he got an email from a different professor reminding everyone that the deadline for their essay was due that night at midnight. An essay taehyun forgot about since he's been so miserable these past few days. 

~

And so the panic and anxiety grew.

He now has to spend the night typing frantically for an essay he has no idea what is even about. Then he has to study all this material for a quiz he doesn't want to take. And now his grades are going to plummet even more after the exam he bombed. A headache is forming, he doesn't want to eat from the stress, he thinks he's a neglectant mate now; not a bad mate but maybe he has been inconsiderate all this time with his childish feelings about public displays of affection. And beomgyu has been gone for 5 days now and his scent is no longer present in their place and-

And yeah, he stopped typing and broke down crying a little, rubbing his face with his hands. He's officially reached his breaking point. 

But this essay was due, and he's gotta keep trying. So he gathered himself together just a little longer, submitted his half assed essay, and then crawled into bed and cried, letting a lot of anxiety and sadness wash over him.

Taehyun spent the night missing beomgyu, his wolf's feelings finally breaking the small wall he brought up to barricade himself with so that he could go throughout his week normally. The Omega's need for their alpha mate mixed with taehyun's need for beomgyu, all stirred together with the bad week he was having, and finally it pushed him over the edge. 

He dropped. Big time.

He sobbed and sobbed, barely getting sleep, not answering beomgyu's nightly text. He was so lost that he missed his morning class with the quiz, which worried hyuka since they shared that class.

And it is now day 6 without beomgyu, taehyun curled up into a ball on beomgyu's side of the bed, barely registering that there is another omega and a beta in the room with him, looking at him with worried eyes.

"Shit, I knew something was up with him the other day, but I didn't think it would be this bad. What's wrong with him?" Soobin asked Kai in a frantic voice. His own omega was freaking out that another wolf that's close to them isn't doing so well. 

Soobin tried not to pace back and forth, and he held a hand to his nose to block out the smell. The room was sour with taehyun's scent.

"He didn't show up for our quiz, so I thought he might be sick or something. He wasn't answering my calls or the door when I knocked," Kai explained. He went to taehyun's apartment and let himself in when there was no reply, and then he called soobin right away. 

"Is he going into heat?" Soobin asked, but by the sobs and whimpers coming from taehyun's lips, he knew that couldn't be it. He also would have smelled it. Taehyun's scent would be overly sweet and arousing, not sour and bitter. 

"Hyung," Kai said with wide eyes and horror. "I think he's dropping." 

Soobin gasped, and then he was approaching taehyun immediately. The scent of another calming omega should help in a time like this.

"I've never seen him drop before. In fact, I didn't think he ever would. He's so strong minded, and his wolf barely ever needs affection-" soobin was rambling, panic rising in his chest the more he realized Kai was right. Taehyun was dropping. 

"I don't know either," Kai bit his lip in worry. It freaked him out to see taehyun like this. They both were unfamiliar with the situation. 

Soobin gently pressed a knee on the mattress, slowly crawling to the distraught omega. He released calming pheromones to help relieve some of the loneliness taehyun must be feeling during the drop. Then he got closer, intending to wrap taehyun up in his arms and comfort him.

But as soon as soobins pheromones hit his nose, taehyun scooted away, crying even harder, his actions violent and hostile. 

"What-" soobin blinked, his hand reaching out to hug his friend. The scent should have soothed him, not make things worse.

Taehyun grew louder, his sad voice heartbreaking to his two friends.

"I don't understand, why is he getting worse?!" Soobin looked to Kai, needing answers. 

Kai was also stunned. "He must be so far gone that another wolf just overwhelms him."

"We need to call beomgyu right now, this isn't something I think we can handle. I hate to pull him from his internship early, but I've never seen taehyun like this before and I'm panicking," soobin babbled really fast.

Kai nodded, already pulling out his phone. Soobin did the same and dialed yeonjun's number. His alpha will make sure beomgyu gets here.

~

Six hours. That's how long it will take beomgyu and yeonjun to return from their trip. Six long hours of soobin and Kai frantically trying to make taehyun at least drink some water, or coax him into letting them comfort him.

But he wrapped his arms around himself and refused to allow them to come closer. His scent grew even more sour, his mood worsened, and at this point he wasn't even coherent. He just laid on his side, staring blankly at the wall while he cried, and somehow that was even worse than his uncontrollable sobs from earlier. 

"Nothing's working, not even beomgyu's shoes or, I don't know!!" Soobin said in frustration. They were running out of ideas, and honestly this is the scariest thing that has ever happened to them. 

"Would beomgyu hyung even know what to do in a situation like this? An omega dropping isn't an easy thing to handle for an alpha, and I've never seen one of this caliber," Kai whispered, his hands wringing together back and forth. 

"I have dropped a few times, but it was because I was happy and safe, not full of anxiety and fear," soobin replied unhelpfully. "And yeonjun is very protective of me when it happens. He usually locks us up and well, you get the point." 

Kai waved his hand, not needing to hear more. 

"Do they even give each other the affection they both need on a daily basis? Maybe taehyun dropped because his omega was starved for love or something," Kai wondered. They were just trying to figure out what triggered taehyun's drop. And taehyun was unresponsive so there went asking him. 

"It's possible. Perhaps their bond wasn't solid, and his wolf was feeling like the mating wasn't complete-" soobin began to suggest, but then the front door banged open and it soon became a flurry of chaos.

"Where is he?!" Beomgyu asked, his eyes darting around for his mate. It's been agony for him to have to sit on the train for hours knowing his mate dropped and he wasn't there for him. His wolf was ready to shred anything in his way if it came to that. In fact, yeonjun had to practically hold him down the entire ride here to keep him in check, much to his surprise. He normally doesn't see beomgyu in such a frenzy over taehyun. They've always been the calm and cool couple.

Soobin and Kai were standing in the hallway outside beomgyu and taehyun's shared bedroom. They weren't allowed to approach the omega any closer than that otherwise taehyun got worse. 

Soobin pointed into the room, "In there, but let me warn you, he's pretty bad. If you need help dealing with a dropped omega we could-" 

But beomgyu ignored him, throwing his jacket aside and unbuttoning his dress shirt all the way down. The dress code for his internship was business casual, and so he's been suffocating in dress clothes the entire week. But Taehyun likes it when it's just their skin against skin, so he was quickly getting rid of the clothing barrier.

Yeonjun joined soobin and Kai at the open doorway, his hand wrapping around soobin's waist. Nobody said anything, just holding their breath as they watched beomgyu approach taehyun with ease. 

His face was calm, his hands confident and reassuring, and it surprised the other three. Normally an alpha coming home to his mate in this state would have him freaking out and wreaking havoc on the place. 

"Taehyunnie?" Beomgyu called, his voice smooth and deep. Taehyun's sobs paused, his body going still at the familiar voice. "Hey baby, it's me. Are you there?" He reached out, running a gentle hand through taehyun's disheveled hair. 

Still, taehyun didn't move, still not sure if this was real or a figment of his imagination. 

But it wasn't, because beomgyu kneeled on the bed, gently moving taehyun's hands away from his face so he could get a better look at his mate. So that they could make eye contact. 

"Hey, there you are," beomgyu smiled softly. "I'm back. Come here and tell hyung what's wrong." 

Taehyun sniffled, wiping away some of the tears still forming in his eyes. He slowly sat up, staring at beomgyu's face, studying it, committing it to memory, making sure it wasn't just his foggy mind playing tricks on him. 

And then he flung himself at beomgyu with full force, making the alpha fall back a bit on the mattress. Taehyun wrapped his arms so tight around his neck, and he made the most heartbreaking wailing sound, burying his face completely into beomgyu's bare chest, needing the skin contact. 

Beomgyu tucked his mate tight into his body, maneuvering taehyun so that his legs were wrapped around his waist and he was sitting comfortably in his lap while he cried. Then he held taehyun close, his arms bracketing him in, and he patted the back of taehyun's head while he let his mate calm down and come back to him.

"Shh, it's ok. You're okay, I'm right here with you. I'm not going anywhere," beomgyu whispered into taehyun's ear, kissing him all over and anywhere he could touch given their position. Taehyun continued to cry, burying his face into beomgyu's neck now, needing his scent to fill every cell in his body. 

The other three just watched in shock, unsure what to make of this. They've never seen beomgyu and taehyun like this, and it was unfamiliar to them. 

After a few minutes, taehyun eventually calmed down somewhat. He still clung to beomgyu like his life depended on it, and it didn't look like he was going to let go any time soon.

"You guys can go help yourself to anything you want," beomgyu told them from the bed. "This is going to be a while. He doesn't usually drop this bad, but when he does it takes me hours to get him back to normal." 

Yeonjun was the first to nod, albeit a bit in surprise, and then he herded the others to the living room where they will wait until beomgyu has the situation under control. 

~

About an hour later, the other three heard taehyun talking, his voice muffled and hoarse sounding. 

He was telling beomgyu all about his horrible week, how much he missed him, how bad he was feeling, about the people who were mean and told him he wasn't being a good mate, and then he asked beomgyu if he ever felt like he was being inconsiderate. 

They heard it all.

"We are to blame as well," Kai said to yeonjun, his eyes growing teary. "Me and soobin just assumed because he was always so level-headed, that his wolf didn't need as much attention and affection with their mate. We thought he would be fine until beomgyu came back-" 

Soobin nodded, equally distraught over his carelessness. 

"I didn't know either," yeonjun whispered. "They just keep to themselves so much, I never bothered to see how close they truly are. I even sometimes worried their mating bond wasn't that strong." 

"Taehyun doesn't like to be so public about our relationship," beomgyu said, making everyone snap their heads to the hallway. The alpha was effortlessly carrying his now asleep mate, still wrapped around him like a koala. He held taehyun up by the thighs and walked over to the couch everyone was sitting on. Kai and soobin made room for him, and he plopped down gently with taehyun, adjusting him in his lap. 

Taehyun was so exhausted, the poor thing didn't even wake up. 

Beomgyu winced when he moved, patting a hand on the back of taehyuns head and running his fingers through the strands.

"Is he...biting you?" Yeonjun asked in confusion.

Beomgyu chuckled softly, trying not to move his neck. "Yeah, whenever he feels particularly vulnerable or upset, he will bite me all over, especially over his claiming mark again and again. Damn his teeth are sharp though." But beomgyu didn't sound like he was bothered by it, in fact he said it with pride. 

"So you guys do have a claiming mark?" Soobin wondered. 

Beomgyu gave him a funny look. "Yeah? Why wouldn't we? You kind of need to claim your mate in order to bond with them?" He said it like they were all dumb. 

"We never saw, so we didn't know for sure if it was official…" Kai trailed off. 

"My claiming mark is on my collarbone, same with taehyun's. Actually, my wolf was pretty possessive that night, so taehyun has like, three claiming marks-"

"Three?!" Soobin squeaked. 

Beomgyu shrugged lightly and unapologetically. He winced again when he felt taehyun's teeth still sunken into his skin at his collarbone. "Taehyun likes it. One on his collarbone, one on the side of his torso, and one on his inner thigh up high near..well, you know," he grinned wickedly. 

Kai held up a hand. "We get it." 

Beomgyu tightened his hold on taehyun, scooching him even closer if that was possible. "He normally gets pretty upset when I'm not around to touch him. I knew this trip would have been harsh on the both of us, which is why I made sure he was all set up for the week. But then some unexpected stuff happened with school on top of the stress of being away from me and he dropped."

He skimmed his fingertips all over taehyun's back and arms, the smaller boy shivering unconsciously at the touch. 

"We...didn't know," soobin whispered with guilt. "He never once asked for comfort, and we didn't know about his exam and if I knew about those other assholes I would have beat them to a pulp," soobin growled, his inner protective mothering instincts coming out. 

"My taehyunnie is pretty self conscious about that type of stuff, so he doesn't normally reach out a hand for help. He tries to deal with it on his own, even though I tell him not to. And he didn't want to bother me on such an important trip, and he said he didn't want to bother soobin because he was also pretty upset about yeonjun leaving, and Kai had tons of classes to worry about-"

"Jeez," Kai sighed, leaning into soobin. "He's stupidly nice and considerate." 

Beomgyu smiled. "Yeah, it's why I have to take extra special care of him." He leaned down and kissed the top of taehyuns head. 

"I'm sorry," taehyun mumbled, surprising the other three. 

"For what?" Beomgyu rumbled, rubbing his cheek against taehyun's hair. 

Taehyun detached his teeth from beomgyu's neck, licking the no doubt sore and red spot. Beomgyu shivered in delight, but otherwise kept still. 

"You had to leave your internship early all because of me-" taehyun sniffled. 

"Stop that. You know I don't care about that," beomgyu told him sternly. "You're way more important to me than anything else in the world." 

Taehyun whimpered, nodding and burying his face deeper into beomgyu's neck. 

"Are you finally coming back to me?" Beomgyu muttered quietly. He had to make sure taehyun was completely back from his drop. 

"Yeah, I'm ok now...since you're here with me," taehyun confirmed. 

"Excellent, because I've been waiting all week to have myself in you," beomgyu laughed happily, gripping the back of taehyun's thighs again and standing up abruptly from the couch. Taehyun squeaked, clinging on to beomgyu tighter so he wouldn't fall. 

"Are you seriously going to do what I think you're about to do?" Yeonjun asked worriedly. "He just came back from the worst drop I've ever seen." It wasn't common for an omega to be sexual after a drop, instead needing cuddles and comfort and reassurance from their mate.

Beomgyu glanced down at yeonjun in confusion. "But my taehyunnie absolutely loves sex, and especially at a time like right now when he's stressed." 

Taehyun groaned at his mate's words, hiding even more from the others. His face was beet red now. 

"Beomgyu," he hissed in warning. It was so embarrassing. 

"What? I'm only telling the truth. There's nothing better to relieve stress from a drop than by letting me fuck you into the mattress-" 

"Stop! They get it!" Taehyun blindly smacked his back. 

Kai giggled from the couch, finding the exchange very cute.

Yeonjun grinned, "wow, who would have guessed taehyun liked it freaky in the bedroom-" 

"Beomgyu if you don't get me out of here right this instant," taehyun began, his scent souring once more from the anxiety of people knowing about his personal preferences with his mate.

Beomgyu decided not to tease, knowing taehyun was still not feeling well. He nodded to the others in farewell and walked into their room, shutting the door quietly. 

It was silent for a few minutes, the other three no doubt guessing what was probably about to start behind the closed door between the two mates.

Soobin was the first to speak up.

"Wow, I didn't realize their bond was so solid."

"I didn't think beomgyu was strong enough to carry taehyun around like it was nothing," yeonjun added in, proud of his friend. Beomgyu has always been on the lazy side, so really, it was a shock to him just how effortlessly he picked up his mate.

"I didn't realize how cute taehyun could be when he wasn't in public," Kai laughed. 

They all nodded, just sitting there in the living room.

Then a thump could be heard from the bedroom. 

Yeonjun laughed. "Man, it's hard to wrap my head around the fact that these two pretty much fuck like bunnies once they go home. And here I thought they were the immaculate couple, all prim and proper. I mean, it's no question about mine and soobin's love life with how public we are."

"Hyung, you really should tone it down in public. It's not decent half the time," soobin began to chastise him.

"Yeah, but you secretly love it when I back you up in a dark corner, where someone could possibly walk in or see-" 

Yeonjun was cut off when they all heard a very loud whine coming from the bedroom.

Now, it was no surprise that beomgyu and taehyun were having sex, and normally you would hear all kinds of whines and moans. 

But this whine was different. It was a sound made from both taehyun and his inner wolf. It was a whine of submission from an omega to their alpha, something that almost never happens unless the mating bond was so strong, the trust so complete between the two, being beyond anything else you can imagine. 

Kai's mouth dropped. "Did he just…?" He trailed off.

"Oh my god, their bond is even stronger than we thought. Taehyun just easily submits to gyu like this…" soobin whispered.

Another whine, a loud growl-

Yeonjun's face blushed red, his alpha wolf reacting to a whine of submission from an omega. "Shit, I don't think this is the first time taehyun submits to gyu. That sounds like he does it all the time."

Soobin glared at yeonjun for his reaction, especially down south. "Don't tell me you're turned on by another omega's submission," he snarled, his eyes blazing with jealousy and anger. 

Yeonjun held his hands up to placate his mate, starting to get very turned on. He stood up, unapologetic by the tent in his dress pants. "No, I'm turned on by the thought of you submitting to me so readily like that. You've only done it for me twice, and after I had to beg for it," he pouted childishly. 

Soobin sniffed haughtily. "You gotta work hard for my submission," he said without remorse. 

Another whine from taehyun.

"Shit, I think this is our cue to leave. Things are about to get very very heated in here," yeonjun said, needing to go. His alpha wolf was starting to get aroused from all of the sex going on in the apartment, and he didn't understand why yeonjun hasn't pounced on their mate yet. His wolf wants to hear those sounds from their omega, desperately. 

"Yeah I don't think I want to hear what happens after taehyun submits to his alpha during sex," Kai was quick to get up and start heading to the door. "This was enough of a culture shock for me. Now I'm going to be mentally scarred for at least a month."

"I don't think I can ever look at taehyun and beomgyu the same again. My eyes have been opened," soobin agreed. He took yeonjun's hand and led him to the door also. Yeonjun was starting to get out of it. 

"I'm so proud of little gyu. Fucking and owning his mate like the proper alpha wolf that he is," yeonjun sniffed, his chest puffing out with pride for his friend. "He takes after me-"

"Enough from you, or you won't ever hear me submit again," soobin warned. Yeonjun immediately snapped his mouth shut.

On their way out of the apartment, yeonjun wrapped a strong arm around soobin's waist, kissing his mate's neck near his claiming mark. "I missed you by the way," he whispered as he locked beomgyu's door, letting the security code click everything shut. 

Soobin melted into the touch as they walked. "I missed you too." He was thrumming with need to get home and finally be with his mate. It's been a long exhausting week. 

~

Beomgyu thrust into taehyun, growls of arrogance and approval coming from his throat. He loves it when taehyun bares his neck for him like this, all pretty and compliant, full of trust and submission from both him and his omega wolf. It was an honor for him, and his wolf was smug. They both were.

Beomgyu intertwined their fingers together, pinning their hands on either side of taehyun's head into the mattress. And then he shamelessly leaned down and bit taehyun's neck harshly while still thrusting. 

Taehyun's warm naked body under him jerked from the abruptness of the bite, whining so loudly for everyone in the living room to hear. And yeah, beomgyu got a lot of satisfaction from that, smiling as he licked the bite mark on taehyuns skin. 

He barely registered the apartment door clicking shut, meaning the others must have left finally when they realized things were about to get crazy in here. It was for the best, because despite him wanting to make sure everyone knew who taehyun belonged to, he also didn't want any other wolf to hear what taehyun sounded like when he was being pleasured, what he sounded like when he came with beomgyu's name on his lips. He was possessive like that.

Yes, normally his wolf would want to show off his mate to the world, especially in public. But that wasn't how things worked between him and taehyun. They liked to keep things private, to wait until it was just the two of them to share this moment together. He and his wolf are completely fine with waiting until they come home before pouncing on their mate, who was surprisingly cute and embarrassed about public displays of affection. They didn't need to showcase it to the world for everyone to see, and taehyun hates feeling like he's standing up on a pedestal with a spotlight on him. 

He guesses nobody else understood that about their relationship, which lead to all this confusion and people questioning their bond. 

Well, screw them. They should mind their own business anyways. 

Beomgyu slowed his thrusts, leaning down to connect his lips with taehyun's, kissing his mate deeply like he's wanted to do all damn week. Taehyun was his addiction, and he shamelessly needed his fix.

He detached a hand from taehyun's, and reached down for his thigh, gripping it tightly and pulling taehyun's leg over his own waist. Then he pressed down on taehyuns other knee, spreading his mate out more so he can hit at just the right angle. 

Taehyun made a pretty gasp into the kiss, moaning at the agonizing slow thrusts going in and out of him. 

"Say my name," beomgyu whispered against his lips, loving taehyun's voice and noises, letting it spur him on and make him harder inside his mate. 

Taehyun gladly complied, wrapping his arms around beomgyu's back and pressing him closer into his body. "Beomgyu, please, fuck me like this all night," he begged quietly, his body melting into the pleasurable but also almost painful slow motions from his mate. 

"Oh I plan to," beomgyu reassured. "All night, and all damn day tomorrow. You won't be walking for a good while when we're done." 

Taehyun loved the sound of that, scratching his blunt nails down beomgyu's back, both of them overheating from arousal and sweat. "Mmm, yes please." 

Then beomgyu kissed him again, their tongues colliding over each other, tasting into their mouths back and forth. 

They parted with a few pants, and beomgyu skimmed his hand up taehyun's side until he was gripping his torso firmly. He goes up then, bracing his knees into the mattress and thrusting hard and fast a few times, then slow and gentle, and then hard and fast once more, bringing them both to the edge only to back off. It was torture but they both loved it. 

"I was so scared," beomgyu whispered, giving taehyun a heated look. "I've never seen you drop that bad, baby." 

Taehyun looked back at him with half lidded eyes as his body bounced on the bed. "I know, I'm sorry." 

Beomgyu thrusted hard again, dragging his cock along taehyun's wet inner walls, groaning deeply at how good it felt. "Don't apologize. I'm the one who's sorry. I should've been here sooner, if only I'd known-"

Taehyun shook his head, the sweaty strands of his bangs sticking to his forehead. "Not your fault," he muttered, moaning at a particularly good thrust inside him. He reached a hand down to his own cock, but beomgyu slapped it away gently, replacing it with a hand of his own. 

"I get to pleasure you. This is all about you tonight," he growled out, pumping taehyun so slowly that his mate was writhing under him from the stimulation and need to come. But not yet, they want to go just a little longer together. 

"Feels amazing," taehyun breathed out. 

"I don't know what I would have done if something happened to you, if I didn't make it in time," beomgyu said, letting the vulnerability and fear coat his voice. "What if you left me all alone?" 

Taehyun shook his head, moaning again when beomgyu swiped a thumb over his tip and then thrusted against his sensitive spot. They were both getting closer to their release. "I wouldn't have left you. I would have held on until you came home. Deep down, I knew you would come for me, you wouldn't abandon me. My wolf knew it, so we waited-" 

Beomgyu sniffled. Shit, the trust they have in him and his wolf was beautiful. He couldn't ask for a better mate than taehyun. Damn was he a lucky son of a bitch. 

He leaned up so that he was kneeling in between taehyuns legs, his beautiful omega spreading them wider for him without even having to be asked. He readjusted his position, gripping taehyun's thighs to hold him in place. Taehyun immediately knew what was going to happen in a few moments.

"Yeah baby, I will come for you right away. I will always be here for you, I'll always love you. Don't you doubt that," he growled. 

Not that taehyun could ever even think about doubting it when beomgyu fucks him to oblivion just like this, making him feel so good, so loved and cherished. 

His hips slammed harshly against taehyun, making his body rock with the motions. Beomgyu didn't look away for a second, needing to see taehyun's face when he finally fell over the edge. Taehyun knew exactly what his mate wanted, and gave him eye contact through it all. He knows his face was flushed, his hair a mess, his body sweaty, his eyes glazed over and fucked out looking. He was a wreck, and only beomgyu gets to see him like this. Gets to hear his moans and whimpers, his pleads and begging for beomgyu to go faster and deeper. 

He could never be embarrassed about this in front of beomgyu. Only his mate gets to see his vulnerability and deepest desires. 

"Taehyun," beomgyu growled out his name, making taehyun shiver in pleasure. "Come for me," he demanded, back to fisting his cock in time with his thrusts.

Taehyun called out beomgyu's name loudly, his entire body stiffening with his final release while hanging onto beomgyu for dear life, making a mess of his stomach and beomgyu's hand. 

Then he clenched around beomgyu so tightly, to the point beomgyu was seeing stars as he came deep inside him for several long seconds with a loud moan. 

"Yeah just like that taehyun, fuck you feel so good," beomgyu breathed out, his voice harsh with a growl. 

He collapsed on top of taehyun, not wasting a second, kissing him and feeling him all over, his hands still greedy for his mate's body, his cock still lodged deep to the point of overstimulation for the both of them.

Taehyun made cute whimpering sounds every time beomgyu shifted slightly inside him. He could feel the mess coming out of him down there, soaking the sheets, but neither one of them cared. 

"I love you," taehyun whispered into beomgyu's ear. 

"I love so much," beomgyu replied back. He breathed in, rubbing his nose and face all over taehyun's neck to scent him. Taehyun giggled, loving how both of their scents mixed together potently, just like how it always does. 

Beomgyu finally pulled out, eliciting a gasp from taehyun. He rolled over onto his back and brought taehyun with him, tucking him into his side. 

They stayed like that for awhile, just basking in each other's presence.

"I was thinking," taehyun began, talking in-between leaving kisses all over beomgyu's chest, sucking dark spots everywhere he felt like. "I think everyone is somewhat right. I don't establish my claim on you enough in public, so people are assuming we aren't bonded closely." 

Beomgyu furrowed his brows, wrapping a tight arm around taehyuns waist. "You don't need to do that, you know my wolf and I could care less what other people assume." 

Taehyun rolled on top of him, straddling his stomach and bending over to suck more marks onto beomgyu's neck. A rumble of satisfaction came from deep within beomgyu's chest, both he and his wolf content now that their mate was here and giving attention to them. 

"Yeah, I know," taehyun told him, humming when beomgyu started to run his hands up taehyun's bare thighs on either side of him. "I don't like how everyone looks at you, like they are waiting for us to break up so they can have you. They talk like I'm not even there," he pouted. "I was afraid I was being inconsiderate towards you this whole time. That's mostly why I dropped."

"You aren't," beomgyu said seriously. 

Taehyun smiled, cupping beomgyu's cheek. "You're too good to me. But I think for both our sakes, I can spare a little bit of shyness in front of others." 

Then taehyun rocked into beomgyu's abdomen, giving them both a little friction to tease. 

Beomgyu moaned, brushing back some of his long hair off his face.

"Whatever makes you comfortable taehyunnie. But one condition," he said, looking up at taehyun. He bucked his hips up, letting his now semi-hard cock rub against taehyun's ass.

"What's that," taehyun breathed out, bracing his hands on top of beomgyu's shoulders. 

"No one is allowed to see you flustered and a mess like this but me. Only I get to know what you sound like when you're feeling intense pleasure," he growled out. He was dead serious about this.

Taehyun leaned down onto beomgyu's chest, feeling how hard beomgyu has now become, and scooted back along his mate's body. He reached behind him, and gripped beomgyu to guide him smoothly back inside, pausing to adjust briefly, letting beomgyu stretch him so wonderfully. 

Beomgyu's eyes were shining and heated, his breathing a bit erratic from being inside taehyun's warmth again. His mate just felt too good for words. 

Beomgyu kept still while he let taehyun mark him some more. He felt sharp teeth drag along his neck on both sides, no doubt the bites being visible for everyone to see for a few days. Then he felt lips sucking behind his ear, and under his jaw, the intention quite clear. It was a warning for all other wolves to back off, beomgyu was happily taken, their bond stronger than anything anyone has ever realized. Even their own friends had no idea just how attuned and in sync beomgyu and taehyun were, their wolves crazy for each other.

Beomgyu started to move taehyun on top of him, using his hidden strength to do all the work and fuck taehyun on his cock like how he wanted. 

Taehyun was more than happy to let beomgyu pleasure himself, enjoying the feel of his mate inside him and with him.

"Yeah, only you," taehyun promised him before leaning down to kiss him senseless.