Chapter Text
Renjun isn’t sure what to expect.
As much as he’s taken care of Mark and Donghyuck on the daily, he’s kind of useless when it comes to their ruts or heats respectively.
Needless to say, Renjun is nervous packing for his important stay at his boyfriends’. What should he take?
Donghyuck had really liked Mark’s clothes… should Renjun bring some of his own too?
He eyes his laundry pile and hesitantly pulls out yesterday’s shirt. He sniffs it suspiciously.
Betas weren’t known to have very strong scents. Even on his dirty clothes, Renjun can just barely smell his sandalwood scent. Warm, smooth, homey.
Where alphas had sharper scents, and omegas sweeter, betas had pretty neutral scents, probably contributing to how subtle they were.
Renjun wonders if his scent would be stronger if he tries scenting his clothes. He’s never really scented anything before, but he is familiar with the idea, what, with seeing Mark and Donghyuck scent each other 500 times a day, or with his own boyfriends scenting him or each other.
In the safety of his own room, Renjun figures it’s worth a shot.
He awkwardly brings the shirt up to his neck and starts rubbing the fabric all over his scent glands.
Renjun closes his eyes. He has to admit, the fabric feels kind of nice against his neck, his own scent relaxing him as it saturates the shirt more.
He buries his face into the shirt, further rubbing his cheeks into the fabric to thoroughly cover the shirt in his scent.
It still doesn’t smell as strong as he’s had the pleasure of smelling some of Jeno and Jaemin’s clothes, but it does seem a bit stronger.
Renjun accumulates a small pile of freshly scented clothes. He’s in the process of scenting the next one when a voice startles him.
“Err—what are you doing?” Donghyuck asks, eyebrow raised amused. Renjun flushes, caught in the act.
“N-nothing.” comes his knee jerk response.
“Really? Because it seems to me like you’re scenting your dirty clothes.”
“Renjun’s scenting his clothes?” comes Mark’s slightly muffled voice in the distance.
Renjun wants to crawl in a hole and ‘d’ word to avoid the embarrassment. Betas don’t scent things, they probably think he’s insane. Or worse—an alpha/omega wannabe.
Mark sniffles loudly, “You smell nice, Junnie.”
Renjun blushes more, “R-really?”
“Yeah, though I’m sure Jaemin and Jeno will like it even more.” Hyuck grins devilishly, “That’s what you’re doing this for, right? Jeno’s going into heat soon?”
Renjun squawks dignity. He’s a beta. Maybe he wasn’t cut out for this…
“Junnie, relax,” Donghyuck says after stamping down his giggles at Renjun’s reaction. He makes his way over to sit next to the beta on the bed. “Jeno’s gonna love it.” He says, looking at Renjun’s scented pile. “He’s also gonna love you being there.”
Renjun only nods, fingering at the remaining shirt nervously.
“Do you… I mean, you know I’m… because I’m just a beta…”
“Renjun,” Donghyuck starts, placing a comforting hand on his thigh, “You being a beta doesn’t change anything. Sure, you obviously can’t give him a knot—” He breezes through Renjun’s sputtering, “—but that doesn’t mean you can’t do other things.” Hyuck waggles his eyebrows. Renjun frowns at his roommate.
“Just you being there will mean a lot, trust me.” Mark reassures for his doorway.
“Yeah, if I had two boyfriends, I’d definitely feel a lot better having both of them there for me in heat.” Donghyuck says. Mark lets out a displeased growl.
“Oh, relax you big oaf,” Hyuck tosses Renjun’s pillow at him, which Mark easily catches. “You’re the only mate for me,” Hyuck sing-songs, which seems to placate the alpha.
Hyuck rolls his eyes privately at Renjun like, can you believe this guy?
Renjun can. He’s lived with them for a year.
Donghyuck pats Renjun’s leg twice, “You’ll be fine, Junnie. When are you leaving?”
“Later this afternoon.” Renjun says, “I just have to finish… packing.”
“Alright, I’ll leave you to it!” Donghyuck makes sure to drag Mark with him when he leaves.
“Good luck, Junnie!” Mark says as goodbye.
Good luck. Right.
Renjun will probably need it.
“Renjun! You’re here.” Jaemin grins, pulling the older in for a bug as soon as he opens the door.
“Hi,” Renjun greets, hugging the alpha back just as eagerly. He needs the reassurance right now. (And Jaemin gives the best hugs.)
“Jeno will be so glad to see you, his heat will probably fully hit him by tomorrow.”
Renjun hums, “I can smell him.” He’s smelled omegas in heat before, the scent not really doing anything for him instinctually, but maybe because it’s Jeno’s scent, Renjun finds he’s not as unaffected as usual.
His sweet cream smell wafts down the hall from his bedroom, as if beckoning Renjun to come closer.
Suddenly, Jeno’s door opens, and he smell gets even stronger as Jeno’s head pokes out. His eyes meet Renjun’s instantly.
“Junnie!” Jeno calls excitedly. He barrels towards Renjun, and the beta braces himself for impact as Jeno leans down to hug him around his chest and lift the beta into the air. Even if Jeno’s an omega, he’s still a lot bigger than Renjun.
“Hi, Jeno.” Renjun squeezes out through his restricted lungs.
“Nono, stop, you’re crushing him!” Jaemin chastises, though from the way he’s gazing at his boyfriends fondly, it holds no real bite. Even still, Jeno places Renjun back down and releases him from his embrace, which Renjun is both relieved (yay he can breathe again!) and sad because Jeno also gives the best hugs. (Maybe he’s just partial to his boyfriends.)
Jeno smells so strongly. Renjun’s impressed by Jaemin’s self-restraint because if Renjun was an alpha, he’s not sure he’d be able to hold himself back right now.
As it is, sweet cream fills his nostrils. It’s all he can smell. It’s all consuming.
Jeno looks so small when he pulls away to look up at Renjun with sparkly eyes. Renjun coos at him, leaning down to press a kiss on his forehead because Jeno’s bending at just the right height to do so.
“How are you feeling, puppy?”
He can practically see Jeno’s nonexistent tail wagging happily at the nickname. Jeno ponders this for a bit before he buries his face into Renjun’s neck, scenting.
“Want cuddles.” Jeno says. Renjun pets through his hair.
Where Donghyuck is rather irritable in preheat, it seems Jeno’s just extra needy.
“Why don’t you show Renjunnie your nest, pup?” Jaemin suggests.
Jeno perks up again, before looking at Renjun shyly, “Do you want to see?”
Renjun smiles, “Of course, I’d love to.”
Jeno grabs his hand, about to lead him to his nest when he suddenly stops, nose sniffing the air.
Before Renjun can question it, Jeno’s following his nose to the bag by Renjun’s feet.
The clothes he’d scented before he left.
Renjun flushes as Jeno leans down to pull a shirt out of the bag and sniff it deeply. He lets out a long sigh of content, eyes seeming a bit foggier than they had been before.
“Smell so good, Junnie. So strong,”
“Oh,” Is all Renjun manages to say, ears going red as Jeno nuzzles into one of his old shirts with a happy noise.
“Did you scent your clothes, Junnie?” Jaemin asks, suddenly behind Renjun, breath on his ear. Renjun’s heartbeat picks up. With Jaemin close behind him and Jeno suffocating himself in his dirty clothes, Renjun feels a heat of his own creep up his body.
“Yeah,” he manages to reply, “thought Jeno might like it.”
“I do,” comes Jeno’s muffled response.
“I like it too,” Jaemin’s voice is almost a growl, it makes Renjun shiver. “It smells so much stronger than usual, it’s making me crazy.”
Before things can get completely out of hand, Renjun pulls on Jeno’s hand.
“Come on, pup, show me your nest!” He says almost frantically. Jeno lets Renjun lead him to his own room. Jaemin takes Renjun’s bags with them.
Renjun stops short at Jeno’s doorway, sucking in a breath.
“Oh, Jeno, it’s beautiful.” And he’s not even exaggerating.
He honestly wasn’t expecting much (hell, once Hyuck’s nest was just a dirty pile of Mark’s laundry stacked on top of their giant beanbag), maybe some extra blankets and pillows decorating Jeno’s bed, but this…
There’s a whole bonified blanket fort in Jeno’s room, but it certainly does not look like a child’s.
“Did you make this?” Renjun asks in awe as he cautiously steps towards the fort, eyeing Jeno’s reaction, but the omega only looks eager for Renjun to come in.
Jeno nods as he picks out some of Renjun’s clothing to add to his nest. Renjun’s heart stutters at the sight. “And Nana helped me.” Jeno says.
Renjun’s shocked again by the answer. He didn’t think it was common for alphas to help omegas build their nests. He’d always heard it was a very private matter, a very particular matter.
Hyuck wouldn’t let Mark help build his nest if the older was Bob the Builder himself. (Ok well maybe then Hyuck would let him help, but only then.)
Granted it is Jaemin, and the alpha is good at everything. Renjun may have rose tinted glasses on, but he doesn’t doubt for a second Jaemin would be qualified at any task.
The fort looks like something a personal contractor came in to build. Are those wooden beams for support?
Jeno’s got the softest looking blankets, pillows, and a few choice pieces of both Jaemin and Renjun’s clothing lining the floor of the fort. It looks so cozy, even Renjun has the sudden urge to get in and cuddle.
So he does just that. Jeno welcomes him with open arms. Renjun let’s the pup scent him to his hearts content, wrapped tight in Jeno’s arms like the omega is never going to let him go.
Renjun thinks there are worse ways to die.