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Jeonghan stands in his office, back against the door and arms folded like a steel padlock across his chest. His hair is damp and sticks to the side of his face in little black rivers; he had gone upstairs after the club closed to wash away the smell of sweat and sex, peeling off his black suit pants and silky tight-necked blouse, trading them for sweatpants and one of Seungcheol’s soft tshirts.
He left the miscreants here, sitting in the chairs facing his desk.
Left them to sweat.
Now here they are, both awkwardly turned to face him, eyes darting about nervously.
“My heat is in two weeks,” he suddenly says. Soonyoung jumps and squeaks. Jeonghan ignores them, pushing himself away from the door and walking around the side of the desk to sink slowly into the chair. He makes a big show out of opening his planner and tracing his fingers over the next fourteen days, tapping one nail against a section marked off with peach emoji washi tape.
He glances up through feathery black lashes. “I assume the two of you want to be there for it.”
Mingyu whimpers.
Jeonghan stares at them, letting the silence hang until they’re both actually squirming. Mingyu has a split lip. Soonyoung has a black eye. This is unacceptable.
“Tell me what happened.”
They both take a deep breath, Soonyoung is already halfway out of their chair. Jeonghan holds up a hand, and they freeze. “One at a time. Oldest first.”
“I didn’t start it!”
“Yes you did, you-”
“You started it when you stretched out my latex bod-”
“That wasn’t ME that was Chan, and besides you got ssamjang all over my nicest muzzle, and I-”
“You poached one of my favorite clients!”
“And you put a thumbtack in my cock ring!”
Jeonghan slams his hand down on the desk, wincing. He’s not made for brutish displays of dominance, he’s not some Alpha. His methods are softer, more intimate.
“That’s enough.” Two mouths click shut. Jeonghan closes his planner and laces his fingers together.
“If we share things, we return them in the condition we found them. You are in a pack, you love each other. So show some respect.”
They nod mutely.
“Soonyoung. How did you get ssamjang on a muzzle? Why was it in the kitchen to begin with?”
Soonyoung lowers their eyes, darting from side to side. They mumble.
“Yah?” Jeonghan asks, eyebrow raised. “Making yourself heard isn’t usually a problem for you, Soonyoungie.”
A sign. “I was making ssam. I wanted to wash the lettuce, and I couldn’t find a strainer.”
Mingyu looks like he’s going to go ballistic. Jeonghan might just let him.
“Alright. Mingyu-yah, did you steal one of Soonyoung’s clients? There isn’t exactly a lot of crossover appeal when it comes to you two.”
Mingyu snorts, folding his arms and leaning back in his chair. “There is when I roll my eyes back and keep my mouth open.”
Soonyoung pulls their shoe off, swinging it at Mingyu by the laces. The two start yelling again and, having learned his lesson from earlier, Jeonghan picks up the thick planner and slams it down with a bang.
A gasp, and a squeak, and they both sit up straight.
“Disrespectful, again. Soonyoung-ah, you do not ever interfere with someone else’s gear, especially not with the intention of harming them.”
Soonyoung whines. “But he likes it! Wonwoo slaps him in the cock all the time! I saw you with a stiletto heel in his lap last night!”
“What if it had been used on stage?” Jeonghan asks. His voice is cool, steely, all the better to put the fear of god in them. “What if it had been used by a patron? I am beyond disappointed in you.”
Soonyoung slides down in their seat, eyes downcast. Their scent sours, filling the room with misery. Even Mingyu leans a little closer, huffing sympathetically.
Jeonghan pinches the bridge of his nose. “What’s gotten into you two? You’ve been at each other's throats all week. Is there something going on in this building that I don’t know about?”
They both shift uneasily, glancing at eachother. The tension evaporates and Jeonghan’s shoulders relax, replaced with bone-tiredness. “What is it?”
Mingyu is bravest, or perhaps the most eager to please.
“We’re all just…a little stressed. Everyone is. We miss you.”
It feels like all of the air has been punched out of Jeonghan’s chest. He frowns, leaning back in his chair.
“What do you mean? I haven’t gone anywhere.”
Soonyoung shakes their head. “No it’s. It’s that - it’s not your fault. You’re just…it’s always like this before your heat. You try to manage everything, prepare for everything. When you aren’t out dealing with vendors and suppliers, you’re in here. We miss you.”
Jeonghan stays quiet. His heats are always a little tricky for everyone; not only is he the leader of this pack and therefore demands more from everyone else, but his heats are long and irregular. They don’t come often, and when they do they last longer than the usual four days. It’s a holdover from taking too many suppressants when he was too young, when missing a shift in whatever seedy club he danced in wasn’t an option.
It takes a lot of preparation. The club has to be closed for the duration, which means finding a way to fill the downtime. The pack members that do cam work pre-record, and some of Seokmin’s seminars are put on the club website for members. There’s also adjusting the schedules of so many people, as well as making sure there’s enough food, clothing, bedding, and emergency supplies.
Jeonghan gets swept up in it.
He bristles, chewing at the inside of his lip like it contains the answer to why this upsets him so much.
“I can’t help that,” he finally says, not meeting their eyes. He doesn’t like this, doesn’t like the feeling of being raw in front of younger members of his pack. Even Seungcheol’s shirt is a suit of armor, smelling so strongly of his mate, the most senior Alpha in the pack.
Soonyoung makes a soft noise in the back of their throat, moving quickly to flop down at Jeonghan’s feet, head in his lap and arms around his waist.
“We know that. We all know you don’t do it on purpose. But you’re kind of like our glue, hyung. We all fall apart a little when you’re spread so thin.”
“Very eloquent, Soonyoungie,” Jeonghan replies, but his voice wavers. Mingyu’s scent warms behind him and Jeonghan feels his solid torso press up against the back of the chair. This kind of transparency, this emotional honesty - it’s uncomfortable for him.
He sighs. “So what can I do?”
Mingyu leans down, pressing his lips to the crown of Jeonghan’s head. He inhales deeply, soft voice rumbling against damp hair.
“Let us help more. You don’t have to do it all yourself.”
Jeonghan eeeeuuggh’s but it’s swallowed up by Soonyoung, leaning up on their knees and pressing their mouths together. Mingyu’s fingers are thick and strong on his shoulders, kneading away the knots of tension that have built deep in the tissue. Jeonghan didn’t realize how tense he had become. How much it affected his family.
“You’re still in so much trouble,” he mutters against Soonyoung’s lips. They whine, bottom lip poking out. “You can clean the private rooms for a month.”
“Hyyyyyyyung…”
“Don’t call me hyung when you’re on your knees infront of me.”
Soonyoung’s eyes glitter, catching Mingyu’s for a moment. “Mommy.”
Jeonghan’s hips lift involuntarily, a shudder of arousal coursing through his body. He bites his lip again, taking Soonyoung’s jaw in his thin fingers.
“Good. Help mommy relax.”
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An hour later they’re collapsed together in a pile on the floor behind the desk and the room smells like sweat and sex. Jeonghan’s scent leaves warm and sticky notes of yuzu and honey on all three of them. If Jeonghan were to lean over his shoulder and kiss Soonyoung’s pretty pouting mouth, their lips would taste the same.
His pretty things had fucked him, eaten him out, kissed and bitten and adored him until he felt boneless. Then they had talked, reestablished a few boundaries, and Jeonghan had promised to delegate more and to let himself rest.
If Mingyu and Soonyoung went about getting his attention in a more productive way.
“Hyung’s back hurts,” he grumbles, pushing himself up on his knees and sliding Mingyu’s cock out as he moves. Mingyu groans, leaning back against the desk and squishing Soonyoung ever so slightly.
“Want me to carry you upstairs?” he asks, ever the good puppy. Jeonghan waves his hand, digging around in his discarded sweatpants for his phone.
“Eh, no. But you can both come and sleep in my room. Cheollie’s away tonight and you know hyung gets cold.”
Soonyoung grins, springing to their feet in a way that feels both personally insulting and homophobic towards Jeonghan’s achy joints.
“No Shua-hyung tonight?”
Jeonghan shakes his head, looking around for Seungcheol’s shirt only to find Mingyu has already gotten to his feet and has gathered up everyone’s strewn-about clothing.
“Seungkwan needed some calming down after his set was interrupted by the two of you screaming backstage, so I’m letting Joshy off of his leash tonight.”
Soonyoung grimaces, and Mingyu mutters something about an angry Seungkwan being much more terrifying than an angry Jeonghan.
The three of them go upstairs and collapse into Jeonghan’s huge bed, lazily pawing at each other for a little while before Mingyu and Soonyoung eventually fall asleep, wrapped up together in a bundle of limbs. Jeonghan stays up on his phone for a little longer, curling up against Mingyu’s broad back and tapping away in the dim light.
He sets up a few recurring food deliveries for the week of his heat and sends a quick message to Minghao, asking him if he can take over some of the shopping that needs to be done in the next few days. Asking for help chafes at him, but he knows now how heavily his need for control weighs on his family.
[ hey ]
His eyelids are heavy, but he sends a text to Seungcheol all the same. He’s probably busy, whatever he’s-
chime
[ Hey Hannie hey. ]
Jeonghan grins.
[ where’d my mate go tonight? ]
[ Wonwoo. ]
Jeonghan feels a spark of excitement travel from his chest down to his cock, but he’s too exhausted to anything more than enjoy the feeling.
[ gonna come home smelling like sex and leather? ]
[ kekeke that’s the plan. Wonwoo says hi. ]
[ if he’s still talking you didn’t do your job cheollie ]
[ :p ]
Jeonghan giggles. It’s late. He won’t stay awake much longer.
[ do something for me ]
[ Anything. ]
Good boy, Seungcheol.
[ remind me sometimes that i’m a part of a family that I love ]
[ kekeke ]
[ love you ddadu ]
[ Love you too. ]
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