Aerodynamic (4/5)
It’s like running in one of the alpha marathons, with the contrast that if someone is close enough to surpass him, he will be done.
Jongin has always been a fast wolf on flat ground, and after harsh months of training, he’s pleased to discover he has developed great skills to run through other surfaces. Speeding among the trees, Minseok’s voice emerges inside his head; he remembers how Minseok watched him run when they were kids, smiling when Jongin refused to rest, and deep inside, he wonders if Minseok knew Jongin was destined to this.
He doesn’t allow fear to paralyze him. He imagines this is another race, that these alphas are harmless, and that his meta is the clearing where one of the squadrons is waiting. The physics are on his side, because he’s indeed a light, strong wolf, while his hunters have to deal with greater weight.
His compass is his own mind, for the squadron must hide their scents so that the trap works. If he diverts his course by accident, makes the wrong turn, he will become a prisoner in a terribly short time. Though he perceives the wolves shortening the distance, he’s confident in reaching the clearing in time.
He’s able to hear the growls behind him, calling, demanding, as though Jongin is compelled to obey for being an omega. That makes him run faster, and when he puts his paws into the clearing, he breathes out in relief. He rotates just to observe the wolves stopping, realizing Jongin isn’t escaping anymore. It’s too late for them, anyways, even if one of the betas attempts to attack Jongin right away, no silly games.
This time, Jongin isn’t going to let anyone bite him, not even once.
The sun is rising by the time there are no more adversaries to battle. The fighting in the clearing wasn't too complicated, since they overpowered them in number, but that changed when they joined the rest of the squadrons. The scenery has been equally gory for both sides, except that most of the pack has escaped.
And as Jongin glances around, enclosed by lifeless wolves, he wants to evade himself from this. Minseok is alive, for Jongin still grasps new pheromones of his in the environment, and that's all he needs right now. Free of danger, he returns to his human form, tears prickling in his eyes. He brushes them with a hand covered in blood, and no one is paying him attention, no one cares about anything except how many of them have fallen tonight.
A hand dives on his shoulder, and he's abruptly aware of having knelt on top of a dead alpha. "I have orders to escort you back."
It's an emotionless Kyungsoo, who pulls him up without expecting a confirmation. Hand in hand, they head back to Kyungsoo's plane, and Jongin worries for a second about his last partner, about how they will need a seat to go back to the army. He guesses there are empty spots now.
"We rescued one of ours," Kyungsoo reveals once they have taken off, sharp, unaffected, as if he has been prepared for this mission for a while. Perhaps he has. Perhaps it's Jongin who would have never been. "They took three with them though. We don't know how many passed away."
They didn't pass away, Jongin wishes to rectify him. Say the word. Say they were murdered, and that they died in pain. Say we could have been them.
"Yifan, Yixing, Junmyeon?" Jongin recites automatically instead. And then, "Baekhyun?"
"They're all okay."
The conversation decays then, though none of them are placated. Kyungsoo drops him in Minseok's building, shrugs when Jongin throws a questioning look at him, and he leaves slouching.
Jongin isn't alone for long, however. Half an hour later, after a shower in the common bathrooms, some pilots are heard from the halls. Even though Jongin is tucked in bed, he sits up with an expectant heart, predicting Minseok will wash as quickly as he's able to meet him. The alpha enters minutes later, silent steps and wet hair, trying not to make any noise in case Jongin is asleep. As he turns and recognizes Jongin's pleading stare on him, the omega anticipates what's going to happen.
Minseok is in a delicate state, thus Jongin doesn't utter a word when he hurries to get into the bed with him, hands taking refuge in Jongin's hips. The kisses are longing, untamed, they're mixed with moans and fortuitous bites, and Jongin is pressed on his back in no time, letting Minseok vent on him. But it doesn't last long, just until Minseok is somewhat calmer to reflect on what they're doing, lips halting and trembling. He pulls away, knees caging Jongin's body, and gazes down at him with regret painted all over his face.
"This is d-definitely... the worst moment for this," he mutters, closing his eyes.
Jongin agrees. They're not in control of themselves after a fight, a violent one at that. The adrenaline is pumping in their systems, and their minds deceive them to force its disappearance with one of the easiest tricks: mating. There wouldn't be anything beautiful in it, because they would mate with any other person that occupied the bed.
Minseok falls on his back and conceals his face under his forearms, but Jongin reacts immediately. He presses against his side, gently removing his arms, and whispers, "Let me help you."
Apparently, his intentions aren't clear at first, considering Minseok only observes him with the same tired gesture. It isn't until Jongin's hands brush against his crotch that he figures it out, hesitating as he observes the omega slipping down his body. A second later, he seems to give up, pressing his bulge up, against fingers that grip him without shame.
"Yes," Minseok gasps, eyes dense with arousal. "Please, Jongin. I fucking need it."
He’s wearing loose pants to sleep, so Jongin just has to drag the fabric down. It effortlessly slides around Minseok’s thighs, and Jongin swallows, not ready to have Minseok displayed on the bed for him. He pulls the clothes until they’re completely gone, thrown at the floor, and then dares to observe the alpha.
Minseok has already fisted his half hard cock, enveloped in a hand that seems tiny in comparison. Jongin feels the beating of the blood in his ears, but he’s not that nervous, a bit flustered maybe; he has tried to imagine Minseok excited before, but his assumptions don’t do him justice.
“What is it?” Minseok asks, as if he knows why Jongin is hesitating. “Do you think you can’t take it?”
That’s exactly what Jongin is thinking, yet the moment Minseok mentions it, he subtly moves his head in denial. Minseok is stroking himself to full hardness as Jongin settles between his legs, tongue unconsciously wetting his lips, and he doesn't vacillate again. He surrounds Minseok's cock with careful fingers, and the alpha wraps his hand around his, leading him to touch without caution.
"Come on," he grunts, fluttering eyes.
Judging by his tone, it's almost an order, one that vibrates through Jongin's insides. He has been waiting for this, for Minseok to be reckless, to lose the protective bubble he has placed around him, and it doesn't matter that sexual desperation is what triggers it. It gives Jongin the upper hand, despite receiving commands, despite still being an inferior.
Eager, Jongin leans down, mouthing at Minseok's shaft. The tip is slick with precum, and Jongin immediately runs his tongue through the slit, staring up at the alpha for a reaction. Minseok is staring back at him, speechless, hands hovering over him as though he's trying not to push him down. When he starts taking him into his mouth, however, Minseok's oversensitivity results obvious. Jongin doesn't know how much time Minseok has spent untouched, exactly, but it's not a small number of days. It's certain that, at least since Jongin has been in the army, Minseok hasn't been with anyone else. And he hopes Minseok had broken up with his other mate before that happened.
Perhaps his thoughts are interfering, because Minseok indeed grips the back of his head and, pretending he's caressing him, he helps him to keep going. When Jongin finally sets a pace, tongue pressing Minseok's dick inside his mouth, he's satisfied, catching the hushed noises Minseok emits. For some reason, he's containing himself, hands rigid with tension; Jongin supposes he has been repressing so many things, for so long, that he can't let go now. His length is pulsing and, as Jongin tries to touch his knot with his lips, he feels the swollen veins that only an alpha could have. Minseok is too big though, and Jongin gags in his attempt to seize him fully, throat constricted in reflex.
"Fuck," Minseok hisses then, hips hitching.
As Jongin moves back enough to be comfortable, he's not surprised to hear the first moan from Minseok, low and needy. His knot starts growing right then, and Jongin's eyes are inevitably drawn to it: this knot is what he has been yearning to see, because they are important for omegas; a good, big knot is much more alluring than any cock; a good, big knot drives Jongin crazy, makes his legs wobble and his ass clench, though he's not getting nothing tonight. Jongin can't endure it, and his lips disclose around Minseok's length, sucking hard at the top before .
"What do you want?" Minseok asks, confused, staring between Jongin's red mouth and his own pink dick.
Jongin doesn't answer, biting his lips hungrily, and he moves to the knot with impatience. He doesn't mind he's leaving Minseok's cock unattended, even if he has meant to alleviate him, but the alpha seems to understand without trouble. At least, he does when Jongin begins to lick the knot, faint, pleasant whines for the sensation of having a knot under his tongue.
"T-that's..." Minseok gasps, cheeks flushed. He has sit up to be able to look at Jongin, since it's rare to have an omega sucking a knot so urgently. For the fleeting second Jongin opens his eyes, he's satisfied of seeing how wrecked Minseok is, cock twitching on its own. “So fucking sexy."
It's pure honesty, because his body would betray him otherwise. He grunts with each lick, each mark that Jongin tries to stamp with his mouth, and if Jongin believes his knot can't swell more, he's wrong. He wishes he could hold the whole knot in his mouth, or between his legs, and he fears he could come just with a soft brush over his underwear.
"Jongin, come... here," Minseok tells him, panting. The omega doesn't pay him any heed, and it isn't until Minseok yanks him by the hair, with serious problems to detach him from his knot, that he realizes he is being talked to. "Let me-"
Unsure of what has made Minseok stop him, Jongin concedes the possibility of manhandling him. He ends on his back, bewildered, until Minseok is kneeling over him, legs on both sides of his head. Jongin parts his lips obediently, and the alpha doesn't waste a second to guide his dick into Jongin's mouth, tight and warm. This position means Minseok is in control, so Jongin is only able to bear with each bold thrust, deep and long to make him gag every time. Minseok grasps the headboard as he pushes into him, swaying his hips, and Jongin presumes he's not tired enough to fuck his mouth, that maybe he has provoked this, maybe he has a skill to revive Minseok from the worst moods. None of that matters though as Minseok's knot tenses, and Jongin feels everything inside him, the way his cock jerks, or how he has to swallow Minseok's cum, though somehow he ends having some on his lips and his jaws.
As soon as he's out of the orgasm, Minseok rolls to the other side, chest vigorously rising. The silence stretches for a while, yet it's a comfortable one, so Jongin gets up to brush the cum away with a tissue. By the time he's back on the bed, Minseok has put his pants on again, but he welcomes Jongin between his arms.
"Sleep," he says almost in a plea, as if he doesn't plan to do the same. Jongin senses a kiss on his forehead before the world fades away.
Omega encounters are supposed to be almost sacred, so Jongin expects they won’t halt themjust because of the recent incidents. He's right, and Kyungsoo whispers to him during dinner the time and place, yet he doesn't look very excited about it.
When he arrives at the lake though, not only are there barely any omegas, but also there is an alpha. Luhan and Kyungsoo are wrestling in the mud, screams and laughter that may alert anyone from many miles around, and Yifan is disinterestedly inspecting them, back against a tree. The three of them stop and turn their head towards Jongin, right before Kyungsoo takes advantage of the distraction to sink Luhan's mouth in the mud.
"Where are the others?" Jongin inquires, perplexed. Then he shoots Yifan a teasing smile. "I knew you were an omega all along."
As Yifan grants him a dramatic roll of his eyes and Luhan wipes the mud off his face, Kyungsoo replies, "People are shit scared, and shit tired too."
That's not an odd explanation, perhaps an exaggeration. Soldiers are trained to hide their panic, and therefore no one would have shared their fears with Jongin. It isn't like he's very popular either.
Jongin lets himself fall next to Yifan, dodging the omegas so that he isn't casually hauled into the fight, and keeps asking, "Who is patrolling tonight?"
They don't know all the names, but Minseok isn't among the soldiers they mention. It stings in Jongin's stomach, because the alpha rarely avoids him this way, always opting for spending his free time with him. Jongin is conscious this has to do with mating and the progress they're doing. Minseok is abstaining himself from intimating with him, and while he understands the reasons - sometimes it feels like they're following a manual - Jongin hurts. He wishes Minseok would be more sincere, that he confided in Jongin not leaving him; Minseok desires him, and it's such an intense, overpowering sensation that it's normal he's scared of losing everything if he takes the wrong step.
All the time, Jongin is under the impression he’ll never get Minseok, anyways.
"You know, the army festivities are around the corner," Kyungsoo comments then. He's still buried in sticky, black dirt, but he doesn't seem to care. "Which means they're letting us go out of the installations."
"Unless you have signed up for the exhibitions," Luhan adds, accusatory, frowning at an oblivious Jongin. "That's a thing innocent rookies do, thinking it will be all the fun. The reality is that they're exploited while we're out drinking and having fun. Just a couple of days each year, and they want to pass them trying to awe the civilians with their weapons? Dull."
Jongin is thankful he didn't, indeed, sign up, even if he had to get rid of a beta that tried to lure him into it. Now he understands why. The prospect of leaving the army for a few nights sounds fascinating after so many months, able to go back to his past home. It's true that they can run through the forest and through territories the civilians are forbidden to even step on, but walking through the city, the houses, the shops, the parks, is a very different experience.
"Besides," Kyungsoo says as he gets up, completely naked. Luhan is faster than him in his intentions and hurries up to the lake to wash himself, "the way people from outside look at you when you're a soldier is... quite the big thing."
Those are the last words before he's diving into the lake, ignoring that both Yifan and Jongin are beyond amused at the confession of a usually heartless man. The atmosphere becomes silent for a while, as they watch the omegas playing in the lake, but at last Jongin observes Yifan in interest.
The instinct may be pricking at the alpha, because without even moving to return the stare, he mutters, "What?"
Jongin is unable to tell him, perhaps because his curiosity is out of place. He has wondered why Yifan is so loved and trusted by the omegas, and after a deep analysis, Jongin has noticed Yifan's behaviour: he never gives signs of liking omegas, or anyone, for that matter. Alphas are capable of hiding the sexual appetite, of course, yet there is always a lapse, at least a few seconds in which their eyes are full of those urges. Yifan never shows them. He rarely glances twice at the same omega, and when it happens, there isn't anything carnal in him.
"Nothing," Jongin replies, a smile threatening to appear. "I was just thinking you keep a lot of stuff to yourself."
As if he can't resist anymore, Yifan swings his head to send him a significant look. For a moment, Jongin is sure the alpha is talking to him this way, and he finishes the conversation by drifting his gaze to the lake, disturbed.
"Are you adopted, Jongin?"
The omega hugs his knees against his chest, petrified. He needs time to measure the answer, but the shock filters among his thoughts and logic, and he's suddenly alarmed, certain that everyone may draw his secret from his without effort. Like Yifan has done.
Wide eyed, he whispers, "How did you know?"
There aren't many persons whom he has shared this part of his life with. Minseok and Jongdae know because their adoptive parents were friends with theirs, and Chanyeol received the news one night when Jongin was drunk enough not to care. Jongin isn't ashamed of it. There are more wolves out there like him, whose blood doesn't belong to the pack yet, but that's an inevitable circumstance. One day Jongin will have mixed pups and they will have a place in this pack, regardless of the origin of one of their parents.
"Omegas in this pack aren't usually so tall," his friend clarifies, grinning in victory. Jongin is relieved to confirm Yifan doesn't judge him for it, that he probably doesn't care at all. "Hell, you're even taller than most alphas. You're taller than your freaking alpha, which was... not so difficult, but-"
"Stop it there or I'll bite you," Jongin warns, half joking, though he has to retain the laughter.
Questions about why his body is built this way have been recurrent since he was a kid. It never bothered him, perhaps because that meant he could defeat alphas due to his strength, or because he had longer legs to run. However, he loves being an omega. He's convinced he would have been miserable if he had been born any other way. Thus, being strong and tall, plus an omega, is perfect for him.
"Jongin?" Yifan calls him again, and this time his voice is singular. It wavers, and he bites his lower lips as if he doesn't intend to keep talking; that disappears when Jongin puts his pheromones on display, so efficient they would calm down even the most nervous guy. "I'm not from this pack either."
This isn't a positive revelation, which is clear on Yifan's features. Jongin reads regret and nothing more, regret and pain, and he shivers, suspecting, anticipating, pieces of the puzzle forming an image he hasn't seen before. All of a sudden, explanations aren't necessary anymore. The truth is in front of him, and it hits him so hard that he doesn't breathe, the soreness extending over his chest.
"That pack..." Yifan continues, with shaking pupils that cut through Jongin. He's slouched, mortified, and Jongin yearns to reach for him and help. He doesn't, because this is important for Yifan, and he needs to get the words out of his system. "Those big wolves... I just knew, when they captured me. I knew it. But they didn't care because I was an alpha, more competency, and-"
Jongin hates the fact that his intuition obligates him to mistrust his friend, even if it goes away extremely fast. It's hard to undo what has been knitted in his inner self, and it's harder to knit new beliefs. All packs that aren't your pack are enemies. It echoes inside his head, again and again.
However, he manages to move towards the alpha, and caresses his arm in an attempt to cheer him up. "You didn't tell Minseok this, did you?"
That's the worst question he can throw at him, yet it's too late by the time he realizes. Yifan looks beyond terrified, and given that Jongin doesn't come up with words to relax him, he decides to release another set of pheromones. They don't work so well now, yet the alpha happens to be a bit less agitated.
"Don't tell anyone, please, please. No one knows," he begs, briefly glancing at the lake. To be honest, Jongin is surprised he hasn't told Kyungsoo either, but he guesses that he's worried about disappointing the other omega the most. "I don't want them to doubt me and-"
Jongin interrupts him before he develops worse thoughts about the situation. "You don't deserve to be doubted," he assures him, sweet gaze reaffirming his words. "You can trust me."
Somehow, Jongin manages to elude the patrolling shifts for the whole weekend. Not a good thing, because he has time to ponder about issues he would rather ignore. As Kyungsoo warned, the soldiers are scared, and a simple visit to the infirmary is enough reason for Jongin; he volunteers, though he’s advised to rest, since laying in bed or wandering through the forest doesn’t clear his mind. Being busy helps him to forget the worries, but that won’t work forever.
Yifan is the main concern at the moment, which is a selfish attitude having into account there are colleagues that are unable to even breathe by themselves. However, his revelation brings questions. Yifan has smelled the other pack very close, and there is no way he would mistake them, plus he’s an abnormally big wolf, just like them. The problem is that, like Yifan pointed out, Jongin is huge compared to other omegas as well. And Jongin was bred in another pack.
He doesn’t have a way to check his suspicions. Every wolf of the pack that has had contact with him is now dead, and even if they recognized Jongin’s aroma, they weren’t in a situation to claim him. But if Jongin belongs to them, it doesn’t matter he has been raised in other pack: the law protects their right to claim him back.
“Aren’t you coming?” Jongin asks Minseok during the lunch. Kyungsoo and Yifan are talking about the plans for the army festivities, whereas he keeps silent all the time.
Minseok concedes a soothing smile, dark circles, a stroke over Jongin’s arm. “You think a general won’t work for something called ‘army festivity’?”
Jongin frowns at him, and Kyungsoo is already laughing at his face when he replies, “I don’t know, I just thought about being with you.”
Everyone drowns in an uncomfortable silence, his words dropping with the same effect as banging on the table. Jongin could lie to himself and assure him that he doesn’t mean to snap at Minseok, yet that’s exactly what he has intended. Maybe due to the stress and the little attention Minseok pays him, he has no option, sadness and jealousy bubbling up inside him. It isn’t fair for the alpha either, and he’s aware of that, but he’s reaching the limit and his patience is quickly is running down.
It takes Minseok a few seconds to respond, a façade that seems made of stone, and then he’s pushing his chair back, yanking Jongin by the arm and announcing, “Guys, we are done for today.”
“I’m not done at all,” Jongin hisses as he tries to free himself from the grip.
However, as he inspects Minseok’s face, he feels his defenses collapsing. He has detected in him determination a lot of times since he’s under his orders, but none are similar to this one. Minseok is disposed to walk away if Jongin refuses to accompany him, and he isn’t certain of what that means, if he may need persuasion to come back later.
With a blink of his eyes that is loaded with feigned self-control, he says, “We are talking about this right now, alone, or we’re never talking about this again.”
Kyungsoo and Yifan are rigid on their seats, embarrassed and lost, and even if Jongin needs to disobey and reject Minseok’s conditions, he’s unable to. He doesn’t work well with blackmail, but it’s a peek at Kyungsoo and the memories assault him: he did worse with Minseok when he was upset about him and Chanyeol.
Therefore, he opts for getting up too, and that’s not enough for Minseok, who doesn’t release him until they’re out of the lunch room. They open several leisure rooms without uttering any word, and only come across one empty room minutes later. As soon as Minseok closes behind them, though, he doesn’t waste a second to reproach him. “What the fuck was that about, Jongin? Are you trying to humiliate me? To tell everyone that I’m such a failure of an alpha that I can’t properly take care of you?”
Those are questions Jongin would have never expected to hear. Minseok is far from combative once they’re alone. Instead, Jongin has the feeling that Minseok is about to cry. It shoots through him as though he’s the one with shining, watery eyes, or licking his lips to hide that they’re trembling.
Jongin shakes his head, gaze traveling to the ground, where it lingers so that he doesn’t have to deal with Minseok’s pain. If there is someone who fails at taking care of the other, that’s Jongin; Jongin, who always thinks of Minseok - like a humming in the background that he needs not to feel alone - but never expresses it out loud; Jongin, who doesn’t undo Minseok’s irresolution when he detects it, just because he isn’t sure either.
“Then what’s this about?” Minseok continues. Only his shoes are in the range of Jongin’s vision, and they approach slowly, waiting for a signal. “Why don’t you speak out, instead of telling me everything is okay? When it’s clearly not, we are clearly not okay at all.”
Because it’s difficult, Jongin wishes he could respond. Because he feels like he has always been Minseok’s second option, and that the alpha wouldn’t have joined the army otherwise, since at a young age Minseok already knew Jongin was going to be his mate. Minseok had a first choice, someone whom he loved despite how other parts of his nature told him he shouldn’t, and Jongin hates all that past. What Minseok had with his ex-mate must have been a much stronger love than what they have, and Jongin is uncertain if they would be together if not for the imprinting.
Pressing against the back of one of the couches, Jongin doesn’t realize he’s crying until he tastes the first tear in his mouth. Minseok is before him in no time, shaking hands that hold his jaw in an attempt to raise it, to look him in the eyes. That’s a bold decision, because watching your mate cry hurts more than any other sensation; it’s a physical torture, not mental.
“Don’t cry, Jongin, please, please, I don’t-“ he begins, pleas that transform into laments. The moment he can observe Jongin’s face and his tears, he chokes, gulping for the need of crying too. “I didn’t want to upset you. I just want to know why, what’s going on with you, please.”
The omega strains himself to hold it back, yet he can’t deny Minseok’s petition forever. It has been a few days since he has been fighting it, and it’s in this moment that he explodes with a sob, “You smell of him again.”
With a disgusted gesture, Minseok lets go, arms falling on both sides. He’s petrified, and it’s evident he hasn’t realized he’s carrying another scent with him, once more, as strong as it was at the beginning. The worst is that Jongin had high hopes, since the scent disappeared almost completely, and Minseok started smell of Jongin for the first time.
Unexpectedly, seconds later Minseok is molding his bodies together, arms confining Jongin in a hug.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” he murmurs, sad honesty in each word. “I’m always so busy that I don’t see it coming, and you don’t deserve that.” Then he kisses Jongin on the cheek, obtaining the ghost of a smile. Jongin breathes in and lets Minseok brush his neck with his lips, tentative, as if he’s planning to bite a shot of security in him. There’s nothing like a visible mating mark to show someone adores him. “I love you, did you know that? And I swear that if I catch him doing this again, hurting you, hurting my mate, I won’t hesitate to use fangs.”
Jongin is the first to search for a kiss, even though his own lips must be salty and dry. He needs to hear these promises coming from Minseok’s mouth, because blowjobs and handjobs don’t mean anything if they turn their backs on each other during the daylight. That promise, however, isn’t very significant beyond the compromising part: Jongin will be the one who takes action if someone dares to scent on Minseok again. He will win that fight on his own.
Jongin has never had many friends, and most of them chose paths that drifted them apart. Jongdae was who remained by his side no matter what, and Chanyeol eventually joined him, even if his reasons changed over time. That’s why Jongin doesn’t get used to having Kyungsoo, Luhan and Yifan, and the rest of the omegas, disposed to support him in any moment. Especially Kyungsoo, who splashes water on him at night if he’s awake and bored, and Jongin would get mad at anyone else, but it’s hard to do it with Kyungsoo.
It’s quite odd, therefore, when they’re discharged for the short vacation. They all return home, separated, and Jongin is confused by having an individual room for him again - no Kyungsoo, no Minseok. Jongdae storms in after midnight though, assuring him that he has been using Jongin’s bedroom all this time and can’t fall asleep on his own bed anymore.
“Honestly, you smell so much like Minseok that I kind of suspect he’s hiding in the closet,” he jokes, still leaning his head on Jongin’s chest.
“Honestly,” Jongin retorts, sincere laughter emerging, “I’ve missed your stupidity.”
Jongdae moves away a bit as to indicate he’s offended, but Jongin throws his arm on him before he keeps up with the dramatic act. He makes out Jongdae’s smile in the mild darkness.
“Are you going to introduce me to your friends?”
“Don’t you dare,” Jongin warns, alarmed. “You already have a brother and a friend in the army, you wouldn’t want to have your mate there too. What kind of lonely life-?”
“Woah,” Jongdae interrupts him with a faint gasp. “I’m not lonely. And I like someone, so I don’t plan to creep on your friends. I just want to meet whoever you’re sharing your military life with, and threaten them to treat you good.”
It’s not a lie. With his ear so close to Jongdae’s heart, it’s impossible to ignore the way his beating speeds up with the mention of that someone. Jongin knows him well enough not to ask; once Jongdae is ready, he’ll speak by himself.
There is nothing similar to calmness during the vacation. Kyungsoo, Luhan and Yifan appear early in the morning, accustomed to the army schedule, and aren’t a bit ashamed of bothering Jongin’s former housemates. Yifan is impressed with Chanyeol, and he even forces him to measure his height in front of him. Jongin decides to leave his colleagues embarrass themselves, and he prays that when they go out tonight, he won’t be dragged down as well.
He’s wrong, of course. As they stroll to the clubbing zone - though Luhan guaranteed that they would enter a tavern, not a club - Kyungsoo uncovers Jongin’s noob mistakes with an annoying grin.
“He crashed his first plane against a wall, and he hadn’t even taken off yet,” Kyungsoo tells Jongdae, interlacing his arms together as though they have been acquaintances for a long time. “People who mistreat my beauties have a special place in hell.”
Taking advantage that both of them are busy laughing at Jongin, Chanyeol slips next to him with a, “How can you sleep with that omega next to you? I’ve never seen anyone worse.”
Jongin limits the answer to a shrug, since he wouldn’t risk letting Chanyeol know that he usually sleeps in a general’s room, naked and embraced by the arms of an alpha. He probably picks up the marking signals Jongin owns - not only Minseok’s perfume, but the bruises that are difficult to hide under the clothes, how Jongin is unaware of betas and alphas looking his way, and the sexual instinct that single wolves experience completely off. And the point is, Jongin notices people staring at them, a great amount of them given that they’re not allowed not to wear their uniforms, but not the sinful hint of their eyes; the army colors attract admiration, and it becomes much more obvious when they arrive at the tavern.
There is already a bunch of soldiers inside, most of them ground ones, and no one complains when the waiters seat the new ones before the civilians. Jongin feels observed, but he guesses he will have to get familiar with this, given that there's a whole life as a soldier ahead of him.
"So what secrets are you allowed to reveal?" Chanyeol asks as soon as they have sat down, grinning. It's normal that people outside the army presuppose the army is all about training, wars forgotten and calm both in the city and in among the soldiers. If they just knew, Jongin thinks, who would trap them if they traveled far enough. "Packs conspiracies?"
Jongin exchanges glances with Yifan, both full of meaning, but Kyungsoo is the fastest to invent a story. "That's ridiculous. But we're building bombs of the size of your house. They could blow up the whole city."
It's fun to witness how Chanyeol and Jongdae buy it without further interrogation, and Jongin doesn't last until he's shamelessly laughing at them. The alcohol never lacks at their table, and the waiters always linger around them more than the indispensable. When they start being pretty noisy, no one calls them out; on the contrary, some omegas and betas dare to approach them, and the alphas take a chance when they're already visibly drunk.
"Now seriously," Kyungsoo repeats for the fifteenth time in two hours, though he's everything except serious. Minutes ago, he had been about to provoke a fight with an alpha that proposed to pass a great night with him. "We really build bombs. Last week, Baekhyun and me finished one of the prettiest, deadliest ones we have ever done. I thought he would kiss me out of happiness."
Even if the rest are too intoxicated to grasp the importance of such an activity, Jongin isn't. He sits up straight for the first time in the night, caressing his own arms in an unconscious act of self-protection. He gains a skeptical raised brow from Kyungsoo. Yifan, next to him, isn't so collected about the topic either, eyes immediately staring at the omega as if he has exposed the most interesting thing about his job.
Thus, the alpha is the first to show interest. "For how long?"
"Why does it matter?" Kyungsoo asks back, conceited. "Since my second year. You know I don't pilot that much, I'm in the engineering rooms most of the time. What, do you think I don't work at all or...?"
"I thought managing the planes was tiring enough," Jongin chimes in, patting Jongdae's head when he dozes on his shoulder. They all are still listening though, so Jongin tries to relax the mood with a, "Maybe that's why they keep being prehistoric ones."
Kyungsoo gasps, throwing a punch at him across the table that, unluckily, lands on Chanyeol's wrist. The alpha hisses in pain, and Jongin pities him because he knows how much harm Kyungsoo's fist causes. He reads the beginning of a grin on both Luhan and Kyungsoo, but then the gesture vanishes in the blink of an eye; and it wouldn't be worrisome, except because they are gazing at some point behind Jongin, Kyungsoo's lips transforming into a tight line.
Discreetly sniffing the clogged air, Jongin understands why they are so troubled about the new client. The problem is Jongin though, and he knows this from the bottom of his heart. There isn't anyone to apply the army rules on him here: he's free to confront whoever he wants, regardless of their rank, either military or the natural one. He has the right to disobey, because orders don't exist here anyways.
By the time Jongin turns on his seat to look back, Baekhyun's eyes have been on him for a while, a stabbing sensation in his nape. The alpha isn't alone, and among his friends Jongin recognizes Yixing and Junmyeon. He doesn't care, really, and as he leaves the table and starts striding to a challenging Baekhyun, he doesn't care about how Kyungsoo immediately follows to stop him.
And almost like Jongin has anticipated it, when he's just a few steps away from Baekhyun, the alpha defies him. "Unable to scent on Minseok, aren't you?"
All the contained anger Jongin has gathered for months blows up in that moment. And if he hasn't hesitated before, that pushes him more confidence into him. If Minseok gets informed about this, he will surely get mad, maybe because Jongin shouldn't go around inciting fights.
People scream when Jongin grips Baekhyun by the neck and throws him on the table, making the furniture slide over the floor. Baekhyun is unaffected by the hit, and in no time he's jumping off it and charging against the omega. Jongin doesn't dodge him in time, and both of them crash against another table, glasses falling and breaking, before they hit the floor in a mess of fists.
Although their friends are quick, not slow to separate them, the swap of hits has been unavoidable. Jongin is shaking as Luhan and Kyungsoo keep him in place, and this isn’t enough for him or for Baekhyun. The horrified faces around them are proof of how severe this is; Baekhyun and Jongin aren’t just two pilots, they are the two closest persons to Minseok in his professional and private life, respectively.
“What the fuck?” Yixing scolds them then as he seizes Baekhyun by the neck as if he’s a pup who has misbehaved. “Are you two kids that don’t know how to talk?”
However, none of the involved are paying them any attention; their stares are interlaced, bursting with rancor accumulated over time, no space for logic. And Jongin learns right then that there are two kinds of persons he can converse with through the eyes: a mate and an enemy.
“Leave us alone,” Jongin demands.
Obviously, their friends are opposed to the idea at first. Chanyeol ushers them outside after apologizing a thousand times to the owner, and Junmyeon still has a solid grip on an altered Baekhyun by the time they’re in the streets.
Jongin isn’t afraid of involving himself in another fight. It’s how his essence whispers he should fix their differences, for Baekhyun has crossed the line and doesn’t regret it all. Only after reiterating that they won’t come to blows, which isn’t very reliable, and that they will remain close enough for them to intervene, they permit them to be alone.
In a deep silence, they sit on the bay of an abandoned shop. It’s impossible to ignore their friends scrutinizing them from afar, so they don’t talk for several minutes, their temperaments about to burst.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?” Jongin breaks at last. He expects justifications from Baekhyun for all that he has been doing behind his back: any wolf would be ashamed for using his pheromones like Baekhyun did.
He doesn’t receive any excuse. Baekhyun is staring at him without the fake smile Jongin is used to, the corners of his mouth hinting a snarl. “You fucking privileged omegas.”
Blinking the confusion away, Jongin scoffs, “Privileged? I’m privileged? Outside the army, an omega is all that I am to the re-“
“Yeah?” the other snaps. There’s a bitter smirk that mocks Jongin’s innocence, and maybe that shows how Baekhyun deals with this: with cynicism. “Don’t even finish the stupid thing you were going to say.”
Alphas don’t comprehend it, so Jongin indeed zips his mouth. Most of them have prejudices against omegas and against their own rank, but they tend to think omegas have it easier. They don’t have to fight or hunt if they don’t want to, they’re usually the half of the couple that gets pampered and sheltered, and if their partner is an alpha or a beta, they have the ability to get whatever they need from them. And it’s true they are privileged, if that’s the type of life one wishes to live. Omegas can accept it, or have no alternative.
And regardless of the rank, it’s unfair for everyone, Jongin imagines, when one doesn’t adapt to the circumstances they have been born with.
“You don’t know how it’s like,” Baekhyun continues then, pretending they never stopped arguing. “Falling for an alpha, when you’re an alpha yourself, is the worst that can happen to you.” Jongin shifts his gaze from the alpha to the floor, upset. It’s childish to prefer not knowing about Minseok’s past, and also futile, since it chases both of them. “Imprinting between two of our kind is almost nonexistent.”
Somehow, Jongin is relieved. Wolves are unable to imprint twice unless their mate dies, which implies that Minseok never imprinted on Baekhyun. Jongin wasn’t sure if it occurred the other way around, though.
“The imprinting is there for a reason,” he retorts in a murmur, upset. He doesn’t have any reason to feel guilty for having found Minseok, for being bound to him; and at the end, it’s them who chose to stay together. Yifan left his mate. Minseok could have settled down with Baekhyun instead of drawing Jongin into his arms. “And we are more than that.”
All of sudden, Jongin is in touch with his thoughts and feelings at the same time. The honesty of his own affirmation takes him off guard, but he should have known better. Jongin doesn’t remember his life without Minseok, and when the army hauled him away from Jongin’s control, there was an odd emptiness within him. They haven’t imprinted on each other because their nature forced them to, although others assume that; they’re together because they fell in love with each other long before they even were mature.
“I don’t care. I cared about how Minseok loved me.” Baekhyun has his feet curled up inside his shoes, a bump against the material, and Jongin centers his attention on them, thinking that it hurts less this way. He’d rather not gaze at someone who has been in Minseok’s sheets more times than he has. Someone whom Minseok didn’t hesitate to give everything, because there was nothing to be uncertain about. “But we always had a deadline. Maybe he loved me, but not forever, not enough. He has always been waiting for the moment he could have you.”
Baekhyun has his eyes fixed on his group of friends, yet he doesn’t seem to be looking at anything. “Imagine all you lived with him disappears because someone better appears. Someone younger, prettier, biologically perfect for him.”
This is not a conversation anymore, and they’re not explanations either. It’s just Baekhyun telling that he has the right to feel how he does. Perhaps, too, that he won’t change. And it wouldn’t be Jongin’s business, except because Baekhyun isn’t passive in his decisions: he affects their relationship on purpose.
“You treated me well when I first joined,” Jongin comments, however, remembering that the alpha not only wasn’t rude, but exceptionally nice to him.
“I didn’t know you were the one,” replies Baekhyun. His shoulders move upwards as though he’s about to shrug, but they slump down before that happens. The fact that Jongin was who Minseok waited for isn’t for him to shrug off, he cares about it. “I was too busy looking at him to catch the signals.”
Jongin doesn’t get trapped in the stage Baekhyun is preparing. The pity party would be valid if he and Minseok hadn’t been suffering the consequences of Baekhyun’s stubbornness. And Jongin isn’t an easy boy to deceive: his feelings are just as relevant as someone else’s.
Turning around to face Baekhyun, he hisses, “You have no right to scent on him. He’s not yours. He doesn’t want your scent.” Baekhyun doesn’t flinch, as though he’s well versed in defending himself. Yet when he opens his mouth, Jongin doesn’t allow him to talk. “You’re only thinking about your benefit. You, you, you. You don’t give a fuck about if you’re making Minseok miserable or not. And you call that love?”
“He wasn’t miserable without you.” His voice does vacillate this time, and he doesn’t have more walls to put between Jongin and him. It’s then when attacking is the best option. His pupils glimmer with a dozen different warnings, like an alpha trying to show another alpha that this is his territory. And Baekhyun thinks exactly that, that he owns Minseok, that Jongin is just an unscrupulous intruder. “I know people can get over the imprinting if they want to.”
“We don’t want to.”
“And Jongin,” Baekhyun goes on, briefly showing his teeth so that the omega doesn’t interrupt him. “I’m going to wait for the moment you make a mistake, or the moment Minseok fucks up a plan just to protect you.”
The ceasefire is over now, a smirk on Baekhyun’s lips, and Jongin doesn’t need to hear the whole threat. But, to win the game, one has to be dedicated. The alpha is standing, about to leave, when Jongin challenges him. “And what?”
“The tiniest mistake-” Baekhyun says, spinning on his toes to grant him a last look, “-and I’ll make sure you’re expelled from the army.”
As always, the army festivities come to an end with fireworks, which amuses Jongin. He has grown up with these kinds of celebrations, admiring them and whatever that was behind the military walls, but once he’s a part of it, it loses all its appeal. Even cuddling with Jongdae while they watch the fireworks is not enough now, and he’s dying to come back to his poor, shared bedroom, or to sleep on Minseok’s bed - though he may not be there.
The time to part arrives too late for him, too soon for Jongdae and Chanyeol, and they oblige him to promise he will visit more often, which is completely out of his hands. The atmosphere in the air force base is similar to days ago: no clues of the enemy pack, and the amount of soldiers discharged from the infirmary is minimal.
Jongin oversleeps the first day, hurrying up out of the dorms not to be punished. When he reaches the base, the place is full of energy and pilots, so no one notices he’s late.
“Have you seen Minseok?” he questions as soon as he finds Yifan checking one of the planes for fissures. He’s squatting, head down, and Jongin has to insist to be heard. “He’s unreachable.”
The alpha draws his gaze to him, but it’s empty. Jongin is startled out of the blue, alarms in his brain going off, and he stumbles toward Yifan, stroking his back.
“Didn’t see him,” Yifan mutters before Jongin’s concerned gesture.
It has no remedy though, no way to hide that something’s actually wrong with his friend, and Jongin doesn’t need to be oversensitive to know.
“The fuck is going on?” he whispers, a moment to glance around and check they’re not being listened to. “Tell me.”
His good intentions aren’t welcomed, which, having into account who he’s talking to, is more than shocking. Yifan straightens up, ignoring his preoccupation, back to his normal self. “Look for Minseok in engineering.”
Deciding not to push him, Jongin follows his advice. For some reason, Yifan confides in him to reveal his suspicions about belonging to the other pack, but he doesn’t share every little worry with him. Jongin piles up most of his problems within too.
Engineering is a whole department, with several rooms and labs, and tracks where they try their devices. It would be hard to run into Minseok if it wasn’t for the imprinting: Jongin just sniffs the air so that the trail of perfume leads him, and he ends in what seems to be an office. Except for the screens, where several tactics are displayed and developed in quickened time, there is nothing extraordinary about it. There are some pilots sitting around Minseok though, and they’re discussing about how the squadrons aren’t apt for a certain tactic.
Conscious that Minseok has smelt him, Jongin sits in the farthest corner and waits, even though a pair of soldiers throw accusing looks at him. But half an hour later they exit the office, and Minseok rotates in his chair with a smile.
“What brings you here?” he teases.
“You,” Jongin answers, approaching without hesitation. Despite the evident fatigue on his face, Minseok allows him to occupy his lap, a kiss on the cheek, a peck on the lips. “I thought you would be mad at me.”
Raised brows, the alpha sneers, “For trying to beat Baekhyun’s ass?”
“So no?”
For a second, Minseok seems to forget he has been asked a question. He nuzzles in Jongin’s neck, closed eyes, and they’re immediately aware of how easy is to miss each other, how gratifying is the scent when it invades their lungs. “Mmmh, if you want that to be a no.”
A contented, untroubled Minseok is rare, and the warmness spreads through Jongin, a flame in his chest, hope filling his bones. It’s a glimpse of what he and Minseok could be, a jump in time to the future, and a smile emerges on his lips.
“Not going to fight over you ever again, traitor,” he complains, even if his acts show otherwise.
His breathing builds up until it converts into mild panting, yet he endures on Minseok’s embrace, an arm that forces him to straddle, fingers that travel up his uniform. He observes Minseok’s eyes, clouded with desire, and then the alpha slowly unbuttons the upper part of Jongin’s uniform. He doesn’t fumble, skillful but calm hands that help to expose his chest; Minseok leans to plant a trail of kisses on his bare skin, and even though Jongin’s pulse races, he predicts that this is just Minseok’s provoking way to receive him. Not the ideal place, or moment, to have an intimate moment, and the alpha always obeys the protocol.
“Since we’re both free tomorrow night,” Minseok murmurs, barely containing a grin. It’s a smile Jongin has grown up with, but that he hardly sees anymore; it’s a smile of red lips, gums and small teeth, and he would kiss Minseok right now if that wouldn’t erase it. Minseok is oblivious though, staring up at him through his eyelashes. “I’d love to take a stroll with you. You know, we pass too much time in my bedroom, and I think you really need to breathe some fresh air.”
"He's taking you to the mountains?" Kyungsoo repeats when Jongin announces his plans that same night. It's dinner time, but they have arrived with the last batch of soldiers, and therefore the dining room is almost deserted. Only Kyungsoo and Luhan are with him, though he wishes they weren't once they start exchanging meaningful looks. "Or is he taking you in the mountains?"
Jongin nearly spits his food, but he chokes on it instead. He receives a pat from a laughing Luhan, and then retorts, "Why would he choose the mountains of all places? That makes no sense."
However, the truth is Jongin never understood Minseok's logic. He remembers that when they were younger, Minseok sometimes would sleep in the garden, in his wolf form, instead of using his comfortable, new bed. There is something suffocating about buildings, he still says daily, and wolves aren't made to be enclosed.
"You know nothing about alphas," Luhan opines, taking a dish another soldier has left untouched. "The farther you are from any other alpha, the better Minseok will feel. And as you can imagine, his room may have alphas sticking their ears to your walls, just to hear you moan."
Jongin makes a face, "Gross."
But even if it's a silly reaction, his legs wobble at the thought. He has been healthy almost for two months - in which Minseok has been very prudent with him - and Jongin has wanted to ask multiples times why they wouldn't give the last step. Both of them having imprinted, it's almost inevitable that Minseok claims him during sex. Jongin was never afraid of it, just a bit unsure due to Baekhyun.
Claiming is a way of sealing that they're commited to each other, of confirming that they belong together. All wolves are raised with parents that have their respective marks on them, so it's an intricate part of their culture, a cycle that they're supposed to fulfill. When he was five, Jongin used to play to leave biting marks on Minseok's neck, later assured that he was his because of that. Minseok wasn't much older at the time, but he was punished and received innumerable reprimands for biting Jongin back.
Those types of innocent memories never fail to tint Jongin's cheeks with a deep red. They were games back then, or he has always supposed so, yet the perspective is different now. Whatever it was, it was ingrained inside them even when their paws were so short that they couldn't properly run. The childish bites have transformed into licking and entangled tongues, but somehow the background is still there.
"Have you talked to Yifan?" Jongin pipes up next in an attempt to drift away from the topic.
Immediately, Kyungsoo sets his forks down, elbows on the table as if that question shouldn't be taken so thoughtlessly. "He's acting weird to you too? I swear, at first I thought he was feeling down because he had to patrol with his ex-mate the other day, but... it isn't that."
In all honesty, the remorse stabs Jongin's conscience. Kyungsoo cares about Yifan more than he does, because they carry more years of friendship on their backs, a pupil and teacher relationship quite peculiar, and still, it's Jongin who holds Yifan's darkest secret. But Jongin hears the silent questions on Kyungsoo's face. Ignoring what's really going on, it's normal for him to presuppose that Yifan is pondering about dropping his military career. He's actually showing all the right signals and, given that he has gone through severe injuries and a traumatic experience, it wouldn't be weird for him to request a petition to leave.
"Whatever it is, let's not alarm the rest," Luhan proposes, stroking the underside of Kyungsoo's jaw as a consolation. "He can take care of himself."
By the time Jongin hops off the plane, head in the clouds, the next pilots to patrol are already waiting for him to arrive. The rules require them to make sure all the past pilots are okay before they begin their own shift, thus Jongin's lateness is irritating. Baekhyun is in the next shift, which means he tells Jongin he will receive a warning for this - although it's Baekhyun's obligation, Jongin would swear he enjoys that little moment.
Yifan is around too, even if he doesn't work tonight, but Jongin decides to approach him either way. He's intently looking through a pile of papers, unaware of his surroundings, when the omega interrupts him.
"Hey, I'm in a rush," he says as a greeting. The alpha acknowledges him with a nod, still distant, still down. "Can you please put my plane away? Baekhyun is going to come after me if I-"
"Yes, of course," Yifan accepts without vacillating.
However, Jongin isn't so certain about quickly leaving anymore. He wants to stay and help Yifan out, to drag him away from his worries, but Minseok will be expecting him in less than twenty minutes. There isn't much that he can do, hands curling around Yifan's wrist, a caress that seems effective to calm him down.
"You aren't them," Jongin whispers, drawing a heavy sigh from his friend. "Neither of us have anything to do with our former pack."
It's as if those words are what Yifan has been searching for, the light in his eyes shifting, a little less of sadness that is replaced with confidence. Jongin comprehends this too well.
"I know I'm not," Yifan replies, voice tainted with unrecognizable emotions. He nudges the omega in the shoulder, as to tell him he should get going. "Thank you, Jongin."
Part 5