cassiopeia ꒱ markhyuck

nineteen

Donghyuck awoke with one of the worst headaches he'd ever experienced in his life, as if someone had slammed his head up against a rock while he slept.

He groaned and clutched the sides of his head, attempting to curl up into himself, but he then startled when he suddenly crashed face first into what seemed to be another person's chest. Alarmed, he shot up and opened his eyes, looking down to see Mark stirring awake underneath him. As the fog of sleep slowly faded away, all the memories of the previous night came flooding back to him, and embarrassment washed over him as he frantically backed away from the alpha king.

"Donghyuck?" Mark said groggily, his eyes squinted as he pushed himself up onto his elbows, "what's the matter? What do you need?"

Donghyuck hugged his knees up to his chest and tried to hide his bright red face, whining miserably. The only thing he could think to do in this situation was apologize profusely, so he was stuttering out his apologies before he could even think twice about it.

"I'm so sorry, Mark... I have no idea what came over me, I've never acted like that before... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Mark blinked, finally awake and aware enough to realize that the omega seemed to no longer be affected by his pre-heat symptoms. "Oh, uh... it's okay, I was happy to help... are you feeling better now?"

Donghyuck refused to look up at him, and found himself wishing that the ground would just open up and swallow him whole. He'd never been so humiliated in his entire life.

"I feel fine," he squeaked, "thank you for like... not taking advantage of me or anything, by the way. I'm sorry, it must have been... difficult."

Now it was Mark's turn to flush red, blushing all the way up to his ears. "Haha, yeah... I mean, it wasn't that difficult, I just wanted to help you."

Donghyuck nodded slowly, still not meeting the king's eyes. "Um... I swear I've never done anything like that before... I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Really Donghyuck, don't worry about it. It's a natural part of your biology, it's not your fault. It happens to all of us."

The unsaid implication hung heavy in the air. Donghyuck found himself suddenly imagining what Mark would be like during his rut, his whole body flushing with warmth. He had to quickly force the thoughts away before it triggered another pre-heat fit, which was the last thing he needed right now, especially while they were still stuck in the middle of a clearing between the borders of two kingdoms.

"Um..." Donghyuck murmured, chancing a glance up at Mark and immediately regretting it. His hair was mussed, with the collar of his sleeping robe hanging off of his shoulder slightly on the side Donghyuck had been laying on. In his pre-heat haze, he vaguely remembered that he had been desperate to get his cheek up against bare skin, and he had probably pulled down Mark's robe himself in order to get to it. He flushed even deeper, distantly recalling how it had felt to nose against Mark's scent gland and slide a hand down against the king's chest, curled up against his side like he was meant for him... it had been like nothing he had ever experienced before.

Mark raised an eyebrow at him in question, looking confused and concerned, and Donghyuck shamefully realized he must have been staring for a long moment. Clearing his throat, he quickly averted his gaze.

"Uh... we should probably leave... y'know, soon. I don't want the next wave to hit while we're on the road."

Mark's expression slipped back into the stoicism Donghyuck had grown used to, and he nodded seriously as he stood to his feet. "Alright, I'll go alert John. You stay here... we should probably still do our best to keep you away from any other alphas."