Archive of Our Own

The beta fidgeted with an empty cassette tape case, lost in the distinct click of plastic, opened and closed, again and again. Pushing down the pause button on the tape deck, the track stopped. Practiced hands smoothly slipped the tape out and replaced it with another, starting it up again, copying a new track onto the blank tape. Click, whirr— plastic sliding into metal, it all settled in satisfying ways in Aeri's brain.

She'd never get tired of messing with equipment. The best days were shipment days, when Aeri could get her hands on something shiny to fiddle with, or when her manager would call her over with that particular, tired tone that told Aeri that a customer had, yet again, been a bit too rough with the equipment and something needed fixing.

The cascading sound of bells crashing against the hardwood floor pulled Aeri’s attention away from her little project.

“Yujin.” Flipping an earphone cup off, Aeri could hear Sooyoung’s exasperated voice from behind the shelves, somewhere near the middle of the store, “Don’t you think we have enough decor up already? Why the hell do we have so many bells in the first place, christ…”

“It’s festive!” Yujin defended, stumbling out from behind boxes of vinyls that she should’ve been unpacking. Arms laden with sleigh bells and stockings, the college girl grinned at Aeri. “Aeri unnie’s on my side, right?”

Aeri threw her hands up, “That’s all you. I just work here.” The young alpha frowned. “You’re doing great,” the beta gave her an awkward thumbs up that seemed to lift the girl’s spirits a bit.

“My underground record shop looks like the North Pole threw up all over it,” Sooyoung sighed, hands on her hips to survey the damage.

While “underground” was a bit of a dramatic stretch in Aeri's opinion, Yujin really did do a number on the store. Thus far, within the work day, Yujin had managed to hang tinsel from all of the shelves, slapped bright red bows on any flat surface she could find, and had begun to string lights across the walls. Everywhere Aeri looked, shiny red and green greeted her.

“Well, your wife said she loved it when she stopped by,” Yujin argued.

“Jiwoo’s too sweet for her own good. Which—” She turned to Aeri, “Still good to swing by the bar on Thursday?”

Aeri paused the playback on the new tape, satisfied with the sound so far, then deftly swapped a new tape in, starting the recording again. She nodded easily. “Yeah, of course, I wouldn’t miss it.”

“Ohh,” Yujin dramatically pulled the sound out, pausing in the midst of untangling yet another strand of lights. “I have a thing at… what time did you say it was?”

Sooyoung raised an unimpressed brow. “Ten.”

“I have a thing exactly at ten, wow, how coincidental!” The alpha’s grin barely held back her laughter.

With her sweetest, sharpest smile, Sooyoung stared the girl down, “How do you feel about a pay cut?”

Yujin stood to attention and slapped a hand to her forehead to salute her boss. “I’ll be there fifteen minutes early.”

“Good girl,” Sooyoung patted her shoulder. She turned to Aeri with a mischievous smile. “Too easy.”

“That’s why you’re the boss,” Aeri joked.

“Oh hey, so, we got the week of New Year’s lined up for our trip, you’re still okay to run things around here, yeah?” Sooyoung mentioned. She took a swig of her coffee from her huge, Christmas tree shaped mug that’d randomly appeared in the backroom a few years back.

“I won’t burn the place down.” Aeri’s eyes scanned down the tracklist she’d written on her notepad, all tailored to a particular someone. She went with a bit of a theme this time. Maybe it was a little cheesy. 

(This Must Be the Place was the first song on the mixtape, it was definitely cheesy.)

“You joke, but you’re the only other person I trust with my baby.” Sooyoung patted the countertop.

Click, another tape removed and replaced.

“Well, it helps that I show up.”

Sooyoung had a bit of a problem with her last assistant manager not really… assisting. Ever. With Aeri around, Sooyoung could actually afford to leave the shop and tend to things in her other home in Busan, always buzzing around with some project or another on her hands.

Sooyoung wagged a finger at her, “You make a good point, see, that’s why you’re so vital to the team, Aeri-chan.”

Hours ticked by and, in between helping Yujin perfect her holiday decor and actually doing her job, Yujin was finally waving bye to her while pulling on her puffer.

“Oh, my friend said that Saturday’s good for you to check out the car. I’ll go with you, she’s cool, I’ve known her since, like, fourth grade, she’s chill,” Yujin noted, tugging her ear muffs over her head.

“Alright, sounds good.”

“What’re you gonna do with the scooter?” Yujin nodded to the back of the store, gesturing to the alleyway, where Aeri usually stored her moped.

“Eh. Sell it probably.”

Yujin’s eyes were round and begging.

“Can I have it?”

Aeri snorted. “What do you need a scooter for? You have a rich girlfriend to give you rides.”

“It’s cool!”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Aeri-chan, I thought you loved me,” Yujin slumped herself onto the counter, still looking up at the beta with pleading eyes. Aeri prodded her forehead with her finger.

“Go home.”

“Fine…”

The excess of jingle bells just installed above the door rang.

“That’s new.” Yizhuo blinked up at the winter wonderland that awaited her.

“This is what happens when Yujin doesn’t do work all day,” Aeri teased.

“Looks like work to me.”

“That’s what I said! You like it?”

“It’s great, Yujinnie,” Yizhuo patted Yujin’s arm.

Aeri could see the way Yujin preened, happy to have Yizhuo’s attention.

“Bye Yujin,” Aeri emphasized.

“Bye boss, bye Yizhuo!”

Yizhuo smiled slyly, waiting until the bells signaled Yujin’s departure to prod. “Jealous?”

“She likes to annoy me.”

“So…” Yizhuo leaned over the counter and reached out to tug at the Santa hat that Yujin had plopped onto her sometime during the day. It was the same shade of bright red that Aeri had recently dyed her hair. “What’d you do all day then, hm?”

Aeri hummed, a little lost in Yizhuo’s eyes. “Secret,” she shrugged.

She’d finished the tape and had it tucked into her coat. The beta would have to listen to it over and make sure everything sounded good, before she started decorating the tape case. Aeri never thought the little tradition would last as long as it did, and still, it’d never get old. Making the tape was fun, but seeing Yizhuo’s reaction— the way her girlfriend would come back to her with a wide, excited grin, eager to talk to Aeri in depth about every track that'd been carefully chosen by the beta— that was Aeri’s favorite part, without a doubt.

Yizhuo eyed her skeptically. “Alright…” She dragged out, “Wanna grab some snacks on the way back?”

Aeri idly thumbed through the register, taking count for the night before locking up. “What’re you thinking?”

“I don’t know, something sweet.”

“Hm. Froyo?”

“Oh, hell yeah. With mango,” she’d said it funny, repeating the word under her breath like she particularly liked it on her tongue. “What?” She asked, catching Aeri’s stare.

“Round.”

Yizhuo raised a brow, confusion turning to understanding with a narrowing of her eyes. “No.”

“So squishy,” Aeri emphasized, reaching out to squeeze Yizhuo’s cheeks.

With Yizhuo’s newly cut bangs, Aeri couldn’t stop admiring. Her girlfriend had never looked so… squeezable.

“I’m breaking up with you.” Yet she still placed her chin in Aeri’s hand, letting her squish her soft cheeks. Aeri chuckled, eyeing her fondly.

“Aw. You’re gonna buy your own froyo then?”

Yizhuo glared, then rolled her eyes with a huff.

“Just hurry, I’m hungry.”

Aeri’s apartment couldn’t hold heat for shit during the winter. Usually, she’d be huddled next to one of her small space heaters. This time around, she didn’t even notice the cold.

Yizhuo laughed against her chest.

“It feels weird!” The omega squirmed beneath the sheets.

“Then move,” Aeri spoke through a giggle.

“No,” her girlfriend whined, “it’s tingly. I like it.”

“Tingly?”

“Like, in my eardrums.”

“Weirdo.”

“Shut up,” Yizhuo whined and shoved Aeri’s shoulder, annoyed.

The omega pressed her ear to Aeri’s chest again, continuing to chuckle at the odd, droning sounds that Aeri made, the vibrations rattling around, tickling her eardrums. Aeri wasn’t sure how they’d gotten around to filling their time with such a weird activity, but didn’t protest.

Yizhuo traced invisible patterns against the fabric of Aeri’s tank top.

“I want to go off of my suppressants.”

Aeri paused.

“Okay.”

“What do you think?” Yizhuo looked up at her, eyes searching.

“I’d say… whatever you want.”

Aeri knew that Yizhuo was on suppressants, they basically reduced her heats down to nothing more than a spike in hormones every month. Aeri always did wonder if that was healthy, she never pried though, it was Yizhuo’s choice.

“But, you’d be the one dealing with my heats.” She paused. “I mean if you’d even want to…”

“I… could help. I mean, I’d help, of course I would. I just don’t know how much good I’d do with… all that,” Aeri let out an uncomfortable laugh. “I’ve never been too, y’know, helpful with that stuff before.”

“Before?”

“Before… well, yeah, I mean, I just helped someone out in college with their cycle, but that’s about it.”

“You did? You never mentioned that.” Yizhuo sat up and suddenly Aeri felt like she’d said the wrong thing.

“Uh, yeah. I mean, it wasn’t really a thing—”

“You helped someone during their cycle though, I’d kind of say that’s a thing.”

“It didn’t mean anything, that’s what I meant.”

“Oh, so, what, it was, like, casual for you to just agree to jump in and help with their heat?”

“I… what? What’s going on?”

“I just…” Yizhuo’s hard expression crumbled. She took a breath. “It’s kind of a big deal for me to… share my heat with anyone.”

“Okay.”

With what Aeri’s heard about Yizhuo’s exes, it wasn’t hard for her to imagine what that would’ve been like; why Yizhuo decided to just stay on suppressants in the long term.

“So… so if you don’t feel—”

“What—? That’s not what I was— I definitely didn’t mean it like that— Yizhuo, I—”

Aeri wasn’t all that good with people.

Somi could be considered one of her only friends, and that was just happenstance. It was Jeon Somi— Somi was friends with everyone, and she just so happened to like Aeri enough to force her way into her life the second they’d sat next to each other in their freshman year of college. Nowadays, their relationship was held up with texting and the occasional random phone call or facetime at odd hours of the day because Somi up and left to build a career in Canada.

Yujin was a newer addition to Aeri’s bad excuse for a social life, but with their age gap, Aeri more or less considered her a little sister, than anything.

Romantically, Aeri had little to nothing to show in that category. She just wasn’t good at it— any of it. She’d nearly fumbled what she did have with Yizhuo before it’d even properly started, and really, most of that was saved by Yizhuo being as tenacious as she was.

So, Aeri panicked a little. Sometimes. Because what they had, she’d do anything to keep it safe.

“I’ve never felt like…” Aeri started, stopped, then, “It means a lot to me too. It would mean a lot to me, I mean, and-and I see it means a lot to you, so, yeah, and… that last time, it was just, convenient, I guess for her, to ask me. We were already, y’know, seeing each other, sort of, and she and her boyfriend were like, off again, so she asked and I thought, sure why not. But it was a little… I don’t know. I couldn’t really do much for her. And I was kind of uncomfortable, and honestly, I don’t think it helped her that much. And I get it, I don’t really have the right ‘equipment’. So, I just… of course I’ll help you, Yizhuo, even if I’m not, y’know, suited for it.”

Yizhuo looked calmer, like the strings holding her muscles tight had finally loosened.

“Fuck the right ‘equipment’,” she scoffed, “It doesn’t really work like that anyway. I just want you there, with me.”

Aeri nodded, “I’ll do that then.” She attempted to make the words sound more sure than she felt.

“Good.”

Yizhuo pushed Aeri down to her back again and placed her head onto her chest with a sigh.

“I’m serious. That’s all I need. I don’t want anything else from you, just you there.”

Aeri nodded, feeling that, with every passing moment spent with Yizhuo, that sentiment was only something that she’d continue to grow to understand.

—

The bar hummed with energy, even after Jiwoo’s band’s set had finished.

Aeri glanced over to Yizhuo, “So…?”

“That was pretty insane. I think I’m in love with her,” Yizhuo spoke, as if having experienced something extremely moving. She spent most of the performance leaned over their table, in disbelief of what she'd been witnessing.

Seeing Jiwoo perform was quite the experience. She was like a kid with a sugar rush that happened to have great vocals for screamo and nu metal by night and taught kindergarten by day. The modern day Clark Kent. Only someone like Jiwoo would have the energy for a life like that.

“I knew you’d like it,” Aeri grinned and nudged Yizhuo with her shoulder.

“I didn’t think someone like her would be into heavier genres like that though, that totally threw me off.”

“Oh yeah, I guess you can blame Sooyoung for that. They were in the same band in high school.” Aeri shrugged. “She said she just joined to impress Sooyoung, but y'know, she had a hell of a voice, so she actually kept going with it.”

“That’s kind of sweet.”

“Yeah. I guess. I don’t know, they kind of had a messy relationship though, like, on and off a lot.”

“Seriously? But they’re so…”

Aeri nodded. Current day Sooyoung and Jiwoo were disgustingly sweet.

“Oh yeah, it was pretty bad, from what they told me at least. Sooyoung was kind of wild. She got kicked out of the band a few times, so, I guess that was part of the whole deal.”

“Eh? What for?”

“Well, the final straw was when she, uh, rammed the band’s van into their rival’s van.”

Yizhuo’s brows raised. “What the hell, why's your boss’s life a k-drama?”

“Honestly, that’s nothing. You should ask her about the ex that set her drumset on fire.”

“You have strange friends.”

Aeri smiled cheekily at her. “We were friends before we started dating.”

The omega flicked the brim of Aeri’s hat up, annoyed. “That was a mistake,” she joked. She readjusted Aeri’s hat and ran her hands over the beta’s shoulders, stopping at the collar of her hoodie to play with the hoodie strings. “You ever think about that? Like, what if we met earlier?”

“Like in high school?” Yizhuo shrugged. “Uh… I don’t think you would’ve liked me,” Aeri chuckled.

“I think you would’ve liked me.”

“I don’t know, I mean, you were dating an a-hole who seemed like the type to bully my type of people.”

“You’re not wrong. Maybe I would’ve left her for you.” She batted her eyelashes at Aeri.

“Romantic. But I think I like us the way we are.”

Aeri had said it jokingly, just another thing to toss Yizhuo’s way in this little game of back and forth they were playing, but whatever she’d said seemed to shift the omega’s demeanor. She stared up at Aeri, bottom lip between her teeth, as if deeply focused in on something.

“Cute.” Her girlfriend finally muttered. She grabbed Aeri’s bicep, running her hand down it and squeezing, quick, and suddenly, the tension was gone. “I'm gonna grab a drink real quick, you want?”

Aeri shook her head, feeling as if she had to rid her mind of some sort of veil. Watching Yizhuo walk away, she now set herself on preoccupying her time somehow. Sooyoung had disappeared backstage to see Jiwoo and help the band pack their gear up and Yujin, well…

The young alpha’s height made her easy to spot through the thick of the crowd, though, her stature wasn’t what caught Aeri’s attention— it was more the fact that her coworker looked very much like a scared little puppy standing outside in a thunderstorm, stuck between an extremely angry man and her girlfriend, who seemed a little drunk and was enthusiastically shouting over Yujin’s shoulder.

Pushing through the crowd, Aeri butted in with a quick, “Hey, man, what’s up?” and eased Yujin and Wonyoung behind her.

“None of your fucking business, bitch,” the man spat.

“Oookaayyyy, then,” Aeri leaned away, hands up.

“You’re the bitch! Acting like you can’t take a ‘no’, get out of here!” Wonyoung yelled. It really was a wonder how she could be heard so clearly over the bar’s music.

“L-look, she's with me, alright—?” Yujin attempted.

The man ignored her, glaring at Wonyoung over her shoulder, “I saw you looking at me—”

“No one’s looking at your bald-ass,” Wonyoung threw in.

“Oh god—” Yujin whispered, frightened. Her and Aeri’s eyes went back and forth between them, as if watching an intense tennis match.

“You’re ugly as fuck anyway, used up bitch!”

“You did not just call me—!”

“Fucking back up!” Yizhuo shouted, wedging herself in between Aeri and the man. In her hand was the drink she’d disappeared to grab: a martini, pink, with a little umbrella in it.

“Put a leash on your bitch, right now, or—”

“Hey! Don’t talk to her like that—” Aeri cut in.

“Stay behind me, baby,” Yizhuo muttered. “Listen, asshole—!”

“Beta bitch needs her omega to save her—”

“Yeah, well, these omegas will fucking slam your ass—!” Wonyoung so graciously added to the discussion.

“Whoa, okay, okay, how about we just—” Aeri shoved herself between everyone, eager to calm things down and—

Really, Aeri never saw it coming.

She definitely should’ve seen it coming.

Somi always did tell her that she was a little… slow when it came to sniffing people out. Literally. Her nose wasn’t the most sensitive, and it’d usually take her a second to get the hint when alphas and omegas went heavy on the pheromones and started doing that whole dominance, territorial thing— vital hints that someone was about to start a real, physical fight.

All that to say—

“Well that fucking blew,” Aeri muttered, slightly muffled from the big ice pack she held against her cheek, though, she was pretty sure it was unnecessary considering how ridiculously cold it was outside. She gingerly pulled it away, feeling the dewy outside of it stick to her skin.

Security came through and threw the dude out, leaving Aeri with a fresh bruise and a complimentary shot for her troubles, courtesy of the bartender that saw the very one-sided fight.

She’d never been punched before. It sucked. Hard. Never again.

Fingers snuck under her chin, gently pulling her towards concerned eyes.

“You okay?” Yizhuo quietly asked. Her fingertips lightly skid against the swollen tissue.

Aeri grumbled. The omega eased her hat off and ran her fingers through blood red hair, readjusting the hat back on, like she felt the need to do something for Aeri. The beta intertwined their hands, hoping that Yizhuo would get the quiet message that she’d done enough.

“Dude,” Yujin’s tone was teary from across the table. “I’m so sorry, I love you so much. You’re literally the best friend I’ve ever had, I can’t believe you took a punch for me.” She spoke through a spoonful of frozen yogurt.

They stopped by a convenience store for the ice pack, then frozen yogurt, to ease the events of the night.

“I mean, I didn’t intend to, but sure, no problem.”

“It’s all my fault!” She cried. “I’m definitely guilt tripping Gaeul into giving you a discount on the car, for real, I love you.”

“I still say you should’ve let me at him,” Wonyoung shrugged, casually patting her girlfriend on the back.

“I have a black belt, so, y’know, if anyone gets into more trouble…” Jiwoo cut in.

“Alright then, we’re not gonna talk about beating people up anymore,” Sooyoung shot that amazing idea down immediately, “I’m just glad everyone’s okay.” She clapped her hands together, “Best case scenario, I say.”

“Well, anyway…” Jiwoo spoke, interrupting the down mood with her signature blinding smile. “Thanks for coming guys!”

After the reassurance from Aeri that she wouldn’t die if Jiwoo and Sooyoung left to go home, they split off from Yujin and Wonyoung— who’d called her fancy driver to pick them up— and walked themselves to the nearest subway station.

Sitting on one of the benches, Yizhuo stood between Aeri’s legs and kept her hands occupied, running her fingers through Aeri’s bright red locks. She wore Aeri’s hat now— the beta liked it on her more anyway.

“Thanks, by the way,” Aeri spoke. “For jumping in. You’re crazy.”

Yizhuo scoffed. “Of course. I don’t think I wanna go to another bar for like, another decade though, that totally took it out of me. What a douchebag.”

“Seriously.”

Despite everything, punch and all, somehow, Aeri found she didn’t want to change anything about their night. She still wanted to be here, with Yizhuo’s hands running through her hair, with Yizhuo by her side.

It was clear to Aeri, more than ever, as she looked up at the woman who’d literally jump into fights for her.

Omega or not, beta or not, Yizhuo was her person, through and through.

“Hey, about your, uh… time… of the month…”

“You can say cycle, dummy.”

“Sure. Sorry. I just wanted to let you know, uh… I’m sorry if you thought I didn’t care.”

Yizhuo’s eyes softened. “We talked about this, babe. I know you didn’t mean it like that.”

“I-I know. I just want to… do everything right for you. I want you to know that you can trust me with this. I really lo—like you. A lot.”

The omega grinned. She shoved Aeri’s shoulder. “Yeah, you like me?”

Aeri nodded.

Yizhuo sighed fondly. Her hands cradled Aeri’s face. “I wanna kiss you.”

“Kiss me then.” The beta gave her a cheeky grin.

Yizhuo rolled her eyes. “Hey. What was Yujin talking about? About a car?”

“Oh. Yeah. Her friend’s selling hers, I was gonna take a look at it this weekend.”

“You’re buying a car?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Just… y’know. More convenient. For, like, groceries. And stuff.”

“And stuff,” Yizhuo repeated, clearly catching the obvious meaning in Aeri’s awkward fumblings.

“Yeah. Like. Moving stuff. Maybe. Maybe big things.”

Yizhuo’s grin was bright. It made Aeri’s heart pound in her chest.

Soft lips captured hers.

—

Aeri scrolled through her shopping list, humming to Yizhuo on the other end of the phone, prattling on through her earbuds. It was odd, knowing that she’d go home to an empty apartment for the first time in a while. Yizhuo, having run out of clean clothes and thinking that it might be a good idea to make an appearance and let Xinyu know that, no, her roommate didn’t die and or get kidnapped, decided to go home.

Not to mention, she’d have to pack for the next week or so for her cycle— she’d be staying with Aeri, which was Yizhuo’s idea, mostly. Aeri couldn’t help but worry that she needed to be in her own environment, she’d been reading a lot about nesting habits.

But Yizhuo had only replied with a shy, quiet, “No, I think… I’d want to be around you. And… your things.” She cleared her throat. “Besides, I have a roommate, so.”

Aeri didn’t mention that said roommate basically lived with her girlfriend. She was a little too preoccupied with the implications of Yizhuo’s words.

Lost in thought, Aeri asked, “Do you crave chocolate during your cycle?”

“Huh?”

"Chocolate. Or like, sweets, generally." Aeri idly shuffled through the shelves, caught between a few brands.

"Uhh, honestly, I'm usually too out of it to even think about eating."

"How about, like, before it hits, y'know..."

"Oh, I guess..." Yizhuo paused. "What’re you doing right now?"

"Grocery shopping? I thought I mentioned that?"

"Well, I— I mean, you're shopping for me?"

"Yeah, since, you know, you're staying over, I'm, like, prepping and stuff."

"Prepping..." Yizhuo quietly repeated.

"Just buying stuff, like, well the articles say protein heavy foods are good, and calorie dense stuff, since you might not want to spend too much time eating. You like those protein bars right? Those fancy organic ones? I got some of those."

"Articles? You read articles?"

Heat crept up Aeri's neck. Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned that. It was a little embarrassing how little she knew about heat cycles. All she could recall from health class back in the day was less than helpful. When it became real— when she and Yizhuo decided that they'd definitely go through with it— maybe Aeri had gone a bit overboard with research. She wanted to be prepared, was all.

"I just... thought it'd help...?"

Silence held over the line for a good, long moment. Lips pursed, Aeri threw in a few bags of jellies for herself, waiting for Yizhuo to say anything.

"I like comfort foods more than sweets, honestly. Like, soups."

"Okay, I'll grab some. Well, how do you feel about microwaveable soups, though? I don't think we'll have time to cook." Another pause. "Ning?"

"You're killing me."

"Huh?"

“Why am I at my apartment again and not with you?”

Aeri chuckled, bashful. “Uhh, because you need clothes and you were gonna die if you had to skip out on your skincare routine.”

“Damn the skincare,” Yizhuo muttered.

“You’ll see me tomorrow, after work. I’ll pick you up.”

“Ohh, big baller over here with her new car, I see you,” Yizhuo teased.

Aeri scoffed. Yizhuo had pouted the whole day after Aeri had surprised her with her new purchase because Aeri hadn't taken her with. Though, she quickly stopped complaining once Aeri bribed her with a ride to eat hotpot.

“So… no to the chocolate?”

Another pause. “Pick up a few bars just in case.”

Aeri smugly nodded. She thought so.

—

Aeri didn't quite know what to do with her hands. The beta had already taken Yizhuo's bags from her and brought them to the “room” side of her apartment— that was, the division marked by the couch in her living room and the bed that clearly marked the fact that, yes, this was a bedroom.

Yizhuo sat, swaddled in a blanket, a take out container of kimchi jjigae in front of her, all courtesy of Aeri.

Usually, Yizhuo’s doe eyes, silently asking her to sit with her, weren't something Aeri could resist, but right now, she felt as if she had to do something, make herself useful in some way, some fashion, just in the case that, maybe, Yizhuo didn't think this would work.

Aeri could be a good mate.

“How was work?” Yizhuo eyed the beta as she folded and re-folded kitchen rags, placing them in a drawer with a little too much precision to be normal.

Aeri peered up, eyes wide and lost. “Hm?”

“Work? How was it?”

“Oh. Fine?”

“Yeah? Yujin get up to anything today?”

“Huh?” Aeri fluttered around the room, readjusting the items on her TV stand— the little cat trinkets accrued from Yizhuo’s little art projects, the TV remote, the random CD cases that didn’t quite have a place to go, so she just uselessly stacked them and put them off to the side. “You sure you don't want anything to drink?”

“I already have water?”

“You sure you don’t want anything else to drink?”

“No…?”

“I'll get you tea.”

Yizhuo caught her wrist as she passed by for the umpteenth time.

“You’re making me dizzy.”

“Sorry, I think I’m nervous,” Aeri blurted. “Not, like, because of you—”

“Sit down? Please?”

Aeri dropped all of her weight on the couch, bouncing them a bit.

“Okay, first thing, and most important,” Yizhuo stared her down, serious, “hold me.”

“Like…?”

“Aeri.”

“Okay, okay, got it.”

The beta wound her arms around Yizhuo, who practically climbed into her lap, squeezing close into her space.

“I like being held a lot during my cycle.”

“So… not that different from usual.” Yizhuo hit her shoulder. “You’re clingy,” Aeri defended.

“Well, it’ll be worse. And weight too. That’s another thing. Like, if you lay down on top of me or hold me tight. I want that. All the time. Okay? Easy, right?”

Aeri squeezed her arms tighter around Yizhuo. “Right. Easy.” Her tone was pinched by anxiety.

The omega rubbed her hands up and down Aeri’s arms. 

“It'll be fine, baby.”

“Okay, yeah, for sure. H-how're you feeling?”

Yizhuo fondly rolled her eyes. "Aeri, trust me, you'll know if it starts. You're dense, but I think you'll catch the hint."

“Dense?”

Yizhuo gave her a look. "I'm alright though. A little tired. I just wanna lay with you."

Aeri nodded and pushed her head into Yizhuo's neck, settling in. She wasn’t sure if it was the nerves, or if she could already tell the difference in Yizhuo’s scent. The usually soft, flowery smell had become more depthful, as if threatening to drown Aeri— the beta breathed in deeply, hoping her own, weaker scent would mingle and intertwine to the point of cohesion.

“That’s perfect,” Yizhuo sighed quietly. “You’re perfect.”

Aeri felt the word spread through her like a sip of warm coffee. She could do this. She could definitely do this.

—

The first two days were markedly normal, save for the little things.

Yizhuo still went to work while she could, the symptoms of her upcoming heat not quite debilitating. Though, she came back more tired than usual, which, of course, sparked Aeri’s anxiety again.

Aeri wasn’t much of a cook, but she did her damndest to take over and make their food, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, keeping Yizhuo eating big meals with the insistence that her body needed the calories with the energy it’d come to burn off. She’d read about it, she’d argue to Yizhuo, who’d only raise an eyebrow at the growing portions of meals Aeri would pack her.

And, just as the omega promised, the clinginess only grew as her heat drew closer.

She’d keep her lips pressed to Aeri’s skin, anywhere she could, her neck, her shoulder, her jaw, dragging them along the contours of her body, pressing as close as she could, mumbling about how soft Aeri was. Scent was another thing— Yizhuo would nudge into Aeri’s neck, would stimulate her scent glands like she could just drink it up.

As a beta, Aeri's nose wasn't as keen as others, and it didn't help that she was a bit nose blind, dense about details like that. But with Yizhuo, she could swear that she could smell all of the nuances— she could smell the, once hinted at, citrus undertones, buried beneath the smell of lilacs, coming through to the surface, as if there to purposefully tempt Aeri.

It nearly made Aeri’s mouth water to linger in Yizhuo’s scent. It was an odd experience. Aeri had never really understood much of the conversation around the topic, but Yizhuo was different. Yizhuo’s smell was comfort. Now, it was that but… something else. It made Aeri feel something else.

“Why’re you taller than me?” Yizhuo huffed against her shoulder.

The second they got home, Yizhuo’s arms latched around the beta’s waist and cinched tight like a belt, no letting go in sight, not even as Aeri heated dinner up for them.

Aeri chuckled and smoothed a hand across Yizhuo’s forearm.

“I can lean down?”

Yizhuo whined incomprehensibly.

With a bit of effort, and continued annoyance from Yizhuo, Aeri turned in her arms, pulling her girlfriend to her front.

With defeat, Yizhuo sighed, “I guess that works…”

“I have good ideas sometimes.”

The omega hit her shoulder.

“Is that my present?”

“Hm?”

Sometimes, Yizhuo would start a conversation in the middle, like Aeri would and should know exactly what she's thinking about at all times.

Usually, Aeri did know, so maybe she had a point.

“I went snooping.”

“Yeah?”

“Mm. I found the tape, the wrapped one.”

Aeri hadn't really hidden it. It was on her bookshelf, the one where she'd recently rearranged all of her cassette tapes to be color coded. It looked cool, but she couldn't find shit at the moment.

“You wanna listen to it?” Aeri knew the answer.

Yizhuo shrugged, very much not nonchalant, in a way that clearly meant yes.

The omega stayed glued to her back, even as they sat in front of the beta’s sound system. Idly, Yizhuo traced her fingers down the tracklist, reading them as each song passed.

“I like this one a lot,” she whispered, just underneath the sound of distorted guitars. Her thumb brushed the name of the track:

i think about you all the time.

“I like it a lot too,” Aeri whispered back.

—

The signs that maybe she was a little in over her head came crashing through on an innocuous night, in between Aeri being shaken awake by cold hands and a whispering of her name, interspersed with baby, said so sweetly in her ear.

It wasn’t until her eyes had fluttered open, was Aeri hit with the scent. It was an impenetrable wall that’d already closed in on her, shoved her into a corner, and the beta hadn’t even known she was its prey the entire time.

She was hard, almost painfully so, tenting her sweatpants. Even the slightest movement made her want to hiss from the sensitivity. Aeri swallowed, only just noticing the excess spit she had been reflexively swallowing down, every gulp tinged with lilac.

The omega hovered above her, knees on either side of her hips— her center close enough to her crotch to nearly brush against it, Aeri could shudder from the proximity, straining against cotton— her elbows held her above Aeri’s face, doe eyes staring down at her with palpable intensity. Front teeth bit into her pink, spit-slicked bottom lip.

“I can’t sleep,” Yizhuo rasped.

“Y-yeah?”

She tilted her head. Aeri felt that she was almost being sized up, like a lion silently assessing a future meal. “Help me?”

Aeri swallowed. Lilac, again.

The beta felt a bit helpless, like she’d been thrown into temporary insanity, surrounded by nothing but Yizhuo. Her hands moved like they were starved, sliding up and under Yizhuo’s sleep shirt, exposing cotton underwear, and long, soft planes of pale skin.

“Please.” Yizhuo pushed her nose against Aeri’s scent glands and dropped her hips, grinding against Aeri’s hard on.

A deep groan spilled from Aeri’s lips, her exploring hands reflexively turning into a rough grip, unsure if she wanted to stop Yizhuo or keep her going. The omega whined into her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

“I can’t, just— Aeri,” Yizhuo rambled.

Aeri’s hips rocked up— she wanted Yizhuo. She needed Yizhuo. She needed to be buried in her. She needed to be surrounded by her, gripped by her, needed to pump into the tight, wet heat she could feel pressed against her sweatpants. She needed to do something, needed to help Yizhuo, needed to listen to the desperate pleas that spilled from pretty pink lips.

Aeri pulled aside Yizhuo’s underwear and shoved two fingers into her.

Slick dripped all the way down Aeri’s long digits, down the back of her hand, and Aeri thought her body might turn to liquid too and join it, where she was sure it’d pool down to the sheets, where it’d leave her sweats damp and smelling like nothing but Yizhuo.

Relief seemed to flood the omega's body for only a moment, where a surprised moan burst forth and her body fell limp, layered over Aeri’s like a blanket.

Her hips rocked, tentatively the first few times, then quickly grew frantic. Aeri matched the pace, pumping into her; the filthy, wet, slapping noises took her breath away.

Fingers dug into her shoulders, a raspy moan that gave way to a whine sounded in her ear. Yizhuo’s body tensed, her torso curling, hips pressing back into Aeri’s fingers— Aeri could feel her walls close around her digits, almost painful, then, came the pulses, strong and lingering, as if attempting to suck Aeri inside.

Aeri shuddered. Her hips snapped up, an unexpected flood of pleasure blooming. She stilled, chest rising and falling to catch her breath, feeling the prominent throbbing in her, now sticky, pants.

She’d been so overwhelmed, she didn’t even notice how affected she was.

Staring at the ceiling, her favorite person in the world tucked into her shoulder with soft, even breaths puffing against her skin, Aeri contemplated.

It was quite possible that Yizhuo might kill Aeri by the end of this.

—

Of course, with the nature of heats, things only got more intense.

Aeri might be late for work.

The hands fisted in her hair tugged, a high-pitched moan made her preen, wordlessly telling her that she’d done something right. Aeri’s hands groped at Yizhuo’s ass, keeping her spread to shove her tongue even deeper into her cunt.

It was addicting. Like lilac melting into her tastebuds.

Before breakfast could even be considered being made, Yizhuo had cornered Aeri in the kitchen and, hands on her shoulders, urged her down to her knees.

Aeri’s fingers dug into Yizhuo’s thighs, a grunt shoved from her lungs as she rode the wave alongside Yizhuo, cock throbbing in her pants.

It’d become apparent that this was a new development— not that Aeri was any less… enthusiastic before experiencing Yizhuo’s cycle. The omega had the beta absolutely wrapped around her finger, Aeri bowed to her every whim, especially in regard to intimacy, the beta was more than aware of this. But there was something about Yizhuo’s cycle. She was overwhelming in every way, any way that Aeri could fathom.

She left Aeri a mess, almost equal in comparison to the omega herself. Wrecked to oblivion.

“Fuck,” Yizhuo rasped.

Her grip softened, clawed fingers turning into gentle brushes through stark red hair.

“Good?” Aeri asked.

“Perfect.” Peering from under disheveled bangs, Yizhuo’s stare cut into her core like molten lava. Her thumb swiped Aeri’s wet bottom lip, her own mouth seeming to open in response. “Do you need…?”

Aeri swallowed. “Oh, uh, no. I kinda…” She shifted, feeling the fabric of her briefs and pants stick to her skin. The sensitivity made her shiver.

Yizhuo blinked. “Oh.”

“Y-yeah. So. I should change.”

Her girlfriend grinned. “You liked that?”

“W-which part?”

“I don’t know, you tell me. Which part made you cum?”

“I— everything?”

Yizhuo giggled. “Okay, we’re gonna be late, c’mon,” she ushered Aeri up, stopping her to bring her into a kiss, sweet enough to make Aeri’s teeth hurt. Her tongue traced her lips, cleaning them, and Aeri couldn't hold back her affected groan. It was almost exasperating, how she could feel herself grow hard again.

“Thank you,” Yizhuo whispered mischievously.

—

Stealing clothes was the norm.

Yizhuo practically owned Aeri's favorite pin jacket— the one that required heft to lift and jangled with years worth of collecting and going to concerts.

Not that Aeri could complain, not at all, she liked it— loved it. She'd toyed with the, admittedly embarrassing, idea that maybe she knew what alphas were on about with their mates, feeling that sort of possession, the want to keep Yizhuo close and have it be known.

She liked seeing Yizhuo’s dainty frame swallowed up by her clothes. She liked that Yizhuo smelled like her, and it seemed to go both ways because Aeri had quickly found that she had no clothes to wear. Literally. Her wardrobe was nothing but hangers and an old PE shirt from high school that she frankly didn’t know why she still owned.

Her gaze naturally traveled to her bed, where a mound of fabric laid in the middle, expertly crafted to swaddle one person in particular.

“No.”

Aeri frowned.

“You want me to go to work naked?”

Yizhuo rolled her eyes, hand on her hip, the other holding a mug of coffee Aeri had brewed for them. The mug was a gift from Somi with the word Hubby stenciled across it. Aeri still didn’t know why she got it for her. Somi only explained— which meant she didn’t at all— that it just made sense. Aeri didn’t know if that made sense, but she did know that Yizhuo standing in her apartment, wearing her Slipknot shirt and boxers, bangs unkempt, definitely did.

“You need me to answer that question for you?” Yizhuo’s sharp eyes threatened death, so Aeri frowned even deeper.

“I have to work.”

“Wear one of my shirts.”

Aeri narrowed her eyes at Yizhuo. “Wait… did you plan this?”

“I have no clue what you’re talking about,” Yizhuo threw over her shoulder as she walked to the kitchen.

“She totally planned this,” Aeri whispered to herself.

“Yujin… stop sniffing me.”

They were killing time, building a new CD display. Actually, Aeri was building the display. Yujin sat next to the boxes of merchandise and handed over stacks of CDs when Aeri would remind her to be useful.

“Sorry.” Sniff. “You smell weird.”

Aeri tucked her chin down, focusing a little too hard on the display and not on the red that definitely brushed her cheeks. Suddenly, her girlfriend’s long sleeved, black shirt felt like a fluorescent beacon. “Ning is…”

“Oh.” A pause, then, “Ohh. Wait, why’re you here? Wonyoung would literally kill me if I left her during her cycle. Like literally. She’d hunt me down—”

“I get it. And Yizhuo’s fine right now, it’s just coming around, y’know, not like, totally full force, so it’s chill. Like, totally chill.” She nearly dropped a stack of CDs handed to her.

Yujin stared at her, wide-eyed. “You’re freaking me out, man.”

“What? I’m chill.”

A creak made the coworkers’ heads snap to find that—

CRASH.

Aeri blinked at the display stand, now three-legged, slumped, halfway down to the ground. Crouching to inspect the broken leg, she stared at the complete lack of screws holding the thing together. Accusing eyes turned to Yujin.

“You didn’t use screws?”

“I forgot?”

“...you’re cleaning this up.”

“Yes, boss.”

—

Aeri couldn’t stop staring at Yizhuo’s “nest”.

She’d read about it, of course, how omegas would build, what were essentially, safe spaces for their heats. But, Yizhuo’s nest was entirely made of Aeri’s things; her clothes, blankets, pillows.

“What?”

Yizhuo looked at Aeri, whose gaze stayed, craned back, over the couch at her bed.

“Can I sleep there?”

“Yeah, it’s done.”

“It won’t, like, mess anything up?”

Yizhuo held her gaze for a long moment and Aeri wondered if she’d said anything weirder than usual.

“Did I ever tell you about my… other experiences during my cycle?”

Aeri shook her head. “I just assumed they sucked.”

Yizhuo barked out a laugh. “I only spent one heat with Jiyeon. Well, barely. She hated the nesting so much. It drove her fucking nuts. She never usually let me borrow clothes from her anyway, but what I did have, she told me to give it all back. She said she only agreed to help me the day it hit and nothing after that, she didn’t have the time to deal with me. So, I started suppressants after that, for good.” She bit her lip. “Anyway, I want you there with me, that’s the point of all that,” she gestured to the bed.

Aeri laced their fingers together and pressed her lips against the back of Yizhuo’s hand.

“Thank you.”

Yizhuo snorted. “For stealing all your clothes?”

Aeri grew red. “Not— just, I’m glad you want me around. I want you around too.”

The omega pulled her into a long, soft kiss that left Aeri feeling like she was floating.

—

Yizhuo really did want Aeri in her nest.

All the time.

Aeri felt like she was choking on lilac and rose surrounded by those sharp, nearly hidden, citrus notes. It was thick and dizzying; it was Aeri and Yizhuo wound together, as tightly as Yizhuo seemed to wish they’d be every time she’d push Aeri down to the mattress, beyond needy.

The beta couldn’t take her eyes off of the sweat-slicked skin of Yizhuo’s neck, exposed by the way she’d kept her head thrown back, mouth agape, overtaken by the way she rocked on Aeri’s dick.

Aeri’s teeth hurt. Her gums itched. It was psychosomatic. Maybe. Betas didn’t mark. But Yizhuo was hers and she would’ve sat up to claim her, if Yizhuo’s hands didn’t so firmly keep her back to the bed.

Still, she was restless, wanting to move, wanting to take every piece of Yizhuo she could, anyway she could— she wanted Yizhuo to look at her, to feel like she’d done something good. The beta ran her hands up and down Yizhuo’s sides, feeling the softness of her skin, the weight of her breasts, the hard peaks of her nipples, down to the dip of her waist, further until her thumb slipped into slick, the same that trailed down Yizhuo’s inner thighs and onto Aeri’s own, onto her pelvis and lower abs.

Her thumb circled the omega’s clit; a gasp left Aeri having felt Yizhuo clench around her. Her hips stuttered, as if begging Aeri’s thumb to stay close, to keep going. Aeri could only listen.

Surprise colored Aeri’s features at the sight of tears, welling in Yizhuo’s eyes.

“A-are you—?”

“Keep going, keep going, fuck, Aeri—”

It was too good. Every muscle felt wound tight, tighter, tighter, until Aeri snapped up, her hands immediately finding Yizhuo's hips and pulling down, tight to her pelvis.

Head thrown back, Aeri's lips parted into a stuttered moan, stuck between sucking in air and shuddering it out. Her cock pulsed in Yizhuo's tight warmth, pumping endlessly, laborious, drawn out pulses that made the beta's eyes flutter, nearly rolling back in her head.

She shivered when she felt Yizhuo's hands rubbing her shoulders— she hadn't realized she'd closed her eyes.

“Baby,” Yizhuo whispered against her lips, pressing a light kiss there. Her lips trailed over the cheek, down to her jaw, up to her ear where she nipped the lobe. “You're did so good.”

Aeri didn't know what it was. Maybe it was Yizhuo’s cycle. She felt like she was slowly going mad, every time Yizhuo would pull her in like this, like a siren, Aeri would find herself having fallen deeper— every time it was harder to come back to the surface, back to reality where she wasn't drowning in intense pleasure.

Eyes still closed, the beta turned her head until their noses nudged together, and urged Yizhuo into a sticky, sweet kiss.

“Need a minute?” Yizhuo teased.

Aeri groaned incoherently.

Red still rimmed Yizhuo's eyes and made her cheeks slightly blotchy. She reached up, tracing the affected areas.

“Intense, huh?”

“Oh, that, yeah I’m fine, sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, I was just kinda worried.”

Yizhuo chuckled. “It felt good, that’s why…” She gestured to her tear streaked face.

Aeri couldn’t help but grin. “Oh. Okay. That’s good.”

“Everything’s just really—” she flapped her hands around as a substitute for a word, “ — a lot right now. Y'know?”

Aeri hummed. She’d noticed. Well, she was kind of subjected to it, but Yizhuo was quick to react to things as of late, quick to be emotional, quicker to anger, more impatient than usual, more needy than usual. Aeri had barely had the wherewithal to slip a condom on before Yizhuo was on top of her. That had been happening a lot as of late.

But, truly, thinking about it, Aeri felt like she was handling things as well as she could.

Well, most things.

“What’re you thinking?”

Aeri flushed. It was embarrassing. Though, if she learned anything from being in a relationship with Yizhuo, it was that honesty was key, even if it did make her want to crawl into a hole sometimes.

“Just…” She cleared her throat. “What if I get tired?”

Yizhuo tilted her head.

“Like… your stamina’s pretty crazy as it is, so…” And Aeri still trying to find her breath was a tangible reminder of the contrast there. She shot a look down to where they were still connected, quivering when she felt Yizhuo shift.

“Oh. I mean, you have hands.”

“Oh god, forget I asked.”

Yizhuo cackled. “It’s true! I’ll like whatever you do to me. If that wasn’t already clear.”

“That’s good to know.”

Yizhuo traced a finger along her jawline, stopping at her chin to push up, their eyes connecting. “I’ll guide you, like usual. It might not be as… comprehensive, but I think you can figure it out. Right?”

Aeri found herself nodding, helplessly.

—

Yizhuo’s heat, the full brunt of it, that was, finally hit within the most predictable timeframe, that was, while Aeri was at work.

The omega had already taken the day off, anticipating the worsening of her cycle, which already made Aeri anxious as it was. Of course, she held strong. Maybe she should’ve known something was off when Yizhuo was too tired to wake Aeri up in the middle of the night or way too early for either of them to get her to rail her into the bed or kitchen counters or any flat space in Aeri's apartment, really.

It was the calm before the storm. Or something like that.

Aeri had been in the middle of explaining why a customer couldn’t just plainly plug in a pair of Sennheiser HD 600s into their laptop— well, they could but it was kind of a sin and they really should be using an amp, and then Aeri’s phone was blowing up, ten texts and two missed calls, somehow, in the time it took her to stumble behind the counter, where she’d left it, to find that Yizhuo would kill her, then fuck her, or maybe the other way around, if she didn’t get home right at that instant.

Home, she’d called Aeri’s apartment home, and somehow that’d registered through Aeri’s anxiety while she shouted out to Sooyoung that her scheduled time off was starting right at that instant.

Aeri kind of expected chaos to greet her when she got home. Instead, she was met with a pouting Yizhuo buried in her nest.

“Are you okay—?”

“Shut up.”

“O-okay.”

Yizhuo sighed. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Did you eat?” Aeri had left Yizhuo breakfast in the microwave that morning.

Yizhuo hummed and nodded. She looked so small, all Aeri wanted to do was keep her tucked between her arms. Mentally, she anxiously ran down a checklist of Yizhuo’s potential needs at the moment.

“Are you in pain right now?”

Yizhuo shook her head and held a hand out to the beta. “Just come here.”

Obediently, Aeri listened and climbed into the fortress of fabric to hold her girlfriend. “I thought you were gonna tear my head off when I walked in.”

Yizhuo leaned her cheek against her shoulder and grinned up at her, sharp and mean. “I scared you?”

“Mhm.”

“Good,” she chuckled.

“I thought you said you were… you needed…” Aeri fumbled.

Yizhuo nudged her into a kiss, sensual and deeply felt down to the beta’s toes. “I just want you close right now, can you do that?”

“Y-yeah.”

Aeri kept Yizhuo pressed into the bed, body draped over top the omega, while they kissed. Yizhuo’s mouth was laced with lilac and rose, so saccharine— Aeri felt every miniscule movement work to pull her apart, piece by piece, until she was inevitably turned to mush atop her mate.

Then, Yizhuo nipped her lip.

Aeri wasn’t sure when their breathing had grown so harsh.

Her hips jerked into Yizhuo’s center; she was so stiff, it hurt. The omega whined and bit at her neck.

“Are you okay?” Aeri whispered.

Legs wrapped around her own and kept her pressed down, against Yizhuo’s smaller frame.

“Off, off, need it off,” Yizhuo pleaded, fingers twined into Aeri’s shirt— which was Yizhuo’s shirt— and pant loops.

It was a blur; Aeri worked fast to shove everything off of them, everything but Aeri’s Alice in Chains shirt that Yizhuo wore, and told Aeri to keep on her, because, “It smells like you,” she’d said, red-cheeked, and Aeri nodded, even if the entire nest smelled like Aeri, because whatever Yizhuo said, was what went.

If what Aeri felt during the earlier stages of Yizhuo’s cycle was intoxication, then she didn’t know what this was.

The beta couldn’t stop touching Yizhuo.

Aeri hadn’t read about anything like this. There was something oddly reciprocal about Yizhuo’s heat, almost as if her own desperation, her emotions were shared with Aeri. The beta’s own mind felt fuzzy, like TV static.

She’d buried her face at the source, until slick dripped down her cheeks, smeared over her nose, over her lips, until she could feel Yizhuo come around her tongue, then around curling fingers that circled and endlessly prodded deep inside, where she knew it’d make Yizhuo’s toes curl, make her eyes flutter, until her moans would break off into something ragged and tired. Yet, her hands stayed clamped in Aeri’s hair and greedily kept her close.

The beta sank her teeth into Yizhuo’s thigh, paused in an attempt to catch her breath, but Yizhuo had other ideas. Her girlfriend pulled her up and into a desperate kiss; with Aeri’s lip between her teeth, a cry rose from her at the feeling of Aeri’s hard cock pressed against her hip.

Aeri’s name dribbled from the omega’s lips, seemingly unable to form anything else as coherently, but Aeri could feel the begging pierce deep into her bones, answering them with apologetic kisses trailed across Yizhuo’s face, tongue catching the tear trails that ran over soft, ruddy cheeks and down her jaw.

Aeri liked to think she was marginally responsible, at least, when it came to the important stuff. Like protection. They’d forgone it a few times, but since then, they— Aeri in particular— had been good about keeping a level head and grabbing condoms. But, there was Yizhuo, always suggesting, always nonchalantly throwing out there that she was still taking birth control and, really, she didn’t mind if maybe this time, they didn’t, but, y’know, it’s just a suggestion, one that’d make saliva pool in Aeri’s mouth like she was a mutt that hadn’t eaten in a week being presented a three course meal. But Aeri was responsible. Definitely.

And they’d had the talk, or, rather, Yizhuo had brought it up— had said it again, that, she’d be a little out of it when her heat really, truly did hit, and that, again, it’s just a suggestion, but maybe it’d be easier to just, y’know, not use condoms.

Aeri had only blinked and resisted the urge to act like an animal about it, calmly nodding and saying that they’ll see when it comes along.

But maybe it really was as simple as this— when it came to Ning Yizhuo, she always got what she wanted from Uchinaga Aeri.

And when Yizhuo begged with her eyes and stuttered whines and moans of the beta’s name, arms and hands and legs wrapped around every part of her girlfriend like she was a life raft in torrential waters, Aeri didn’t really hesitate.

It was sweet relief.

It was red-hot tension building too quickly to a snapping point. It was almost too much— the slick that dripped down Aeri’s shaft that pooled against her hips; the feeling of Yizhuo’s walls pulling her in, clamping down with every minute movement.

In an attempt to ground herself, Aeri palmed Yizhuo’s waist, dragging her palm up the smooth skin, feeling her stomach clench with shivers.

“Move, move, please move,” Yizhuo cried.

The sounds were sloppy and wet, every time Yizhuo's ass would connect with Aeri's hips. It made Aeri's lips part with unfiltered whimpers, it made saliva build in her mouth, it made her toes curl. Her cock pounded, jolts of desire ran up and down the length in reply to Yizhuo.

Aeri felt that she may unravel over the omega, like a spool of thread thrown down a long flight of stairs.

Yizhuo sobbed into the pillow, the sound interlaced with screaming, it made Aeri feel like her bones had been liquefied. The beta panted, keeping her pounding pace steady, the angle of her hips as even as she could keep them.

The omega’s back arched, her ass pressing back into Aeri's hips, as if she could get her even deeper than she was, as if begging her to go even deeper. Aeri moaned, taking in the way Yizhuo's jaw hung open, the way her eyes went in and out of focus, it all made Aeri pound harder against her, feeling just as swept up in the feeling of Yizhuo clenching around her, coming around her cock again and again, begging her to finish.

“C— I’m coming, Ning,” Aeri rasped.

“Please, please, I need it,” Yizhuo cried, a hand reached back to grab for Aeri, who complied, pressing her weight against the omega’s back, pulling a whimper from the younger woman.

Aeri saw white.

Her fingers dug into Yizhuo’s waist, plush skin spilling past the tight grip— she kept her pinned down with her weight, hips uselessly rocking through their shared orgasm. Yizhuo’s body shook; her cunt clenched relentlessly around Aeri’s throbbing cock, eagerly taking in pump after pump of cum.

The beta pulled her into a sloppy kiss filled with mirrored moans and whispered affection from Aeri. Yizhuo blindly reached back for Aeri’s hip again.

“Keep going, pl-please,” Yizhuo whimpered.

And Aeri really couldn’t help the way her hips started rocking on demand.

It was two days before they finally broke through the haze of Yizhuo’s heat— two days before Aeri’s mind wasn’t just a revolving door of Yizhuo, Yizhuo, Yizhuo— and they could handle more complex thought, they stumbled out of bed and into the kitchen, where Aeri cooked the omega one of the only things she (competently) could: over medium eggs and avocado on toast.

Pulling the jam out of the fridge, knowing that Yizhuo would be asking for it in the next few minutes, Aeri broke the warm silence that swaddled them close.

“So… good trial run?”

Yizhuo blinked at her through a bite of toast. “Already thinking about my next heat?” She teased.

Through red cheeks, Aeri shrugged, “I mean, I wasn’t— I guess trial run for your cycles, yeah, but I more meant, like…” Aeri hesitated. She wasn’t good at this, being so plain with her feelings and wants, and usually it’d come tumbling out in an awkward mess, but she wanted to try and so, finally, the words puttered out like fumes from an old car, “...living with me.”

The omega stared at her.

“I guess it’d be a little different if you did actually live with me, I mean, the day in day out kind of stuff, since you’re, y’know, kind of in heat right now. But I think it’s been going well, living together, despite the circumstances. Or not despite, that sounds kind of mean—”

“Aeri.” Yizhuo stared up at her, cheek pressed against her fist, a smile played at the edges of her lips. “I love you.”

The beta fiddled with the jam jar in her hands. It’d only just occurred to her that she probably should close the fridge. Her heart thudded painfully within her chest.

“I love you too.”

“I do want to move in. I thought it was kind of obvious, but I guess I have to be more straightforward about some stuff.”

“O-okay,” Aeri nodded.

“Okay?”

“Yeah, that’s… I love you.”

Yizhuo giggled, her eyes squinted into crescents from smiling so hard.

“I know. Come here, you’re running the energy bill up.”

Yizhuo pressed her head against Aeri’s stomach, while the beta ran her hands through her hair.

“Are you sure you wanna move in here? It’s a little cramped.”

“Backing out already?”

“Well, no, but maybe—”

“It’s perfect,” Yizhuo muttered into her shirt, pressing closer.

“Okay.”

Aeri had to agree. It was perfect.