cassiopeia ꒱ markhyuck

thirty seven

The preparations for the first banquet were a blur of stress and excitement, where Donghyuck could barely keep track of everything going on.

The maids approached Donghyuck repeatedly to ask his opinions on the drapes, the plates, the silverware, the color of the tablecloth, basically every small detail that Donghyuck could honestly care less about. It was starting to drive him crazy, having to look over everything a million times and choose between options that honestly looked the same to him, and he felt like the stress of everything was starting to chip away at his sanity.

When Mark came up behind him at the end of one such day, wrapping his arms around his waist and asking about his day as he pressed soft kisses against his shoulder, Donghyuck couldn't help but sink into the alpha's embrace and whine, once again feeling overwhelmed and underprepared for life as a queen.

"My day was so busy," he grumbled, tilting his head back in order to pout up at Mark, "everyone wants my opinion on weird shit, like whether I want the table cloth to be off-white or cream colored. What's even the difference?"

Mark smiled softly, pressing a kiss against the omega's cheek. "Cream has more warm undertones. Off-white is more gray, it's more neutral."

"Mark," Donghyuck whined, exasperated. Mark laughed and slowly turned Donghyuck in his embrace until they were facing each other, looking down at him fondly.

"You're overthinking it, baby. You don't have to put that much thought into it, the maids only want your opinion because they're used to serving stuck up omegas that pick apart every minuscule detail. If you don't care then you don't have to spend much time agonizing over it, just pick an option and move on."

Donghyuck bit into his bottom lip and blinked up at Mark. "You really think so?"

"Mhm. It'll all be okay, everything will be perfect, okay?" Mark hummed, tucking a strand of hair behind Donghyuck's ear. That prompted the omega to move forward and slide a hand up to the back of Mark's neck, pulling him into a kiss.

"Mark," Donghyuck huffed against his mouth, pressing up a little closer and tangling his fingers in the hairs at the base of Mark's scalp. The king detected a spike in Donghyuck's scent—not all that different from when Donghyuck had first started his preheat back in the forest—and he immediately felt a smile spread across his face at the realization.

"Hmm?" He hummed in response, despite knowing exactly what Donghyuck was gearing up to ask for. The omega sighed and began to nose along the king's jawline, breathing hot, open mouthed kisses against the column of his throat.

"Alpha," Donghyuck sighed, his voice saccharine sweet and dripping with perfectly weaponized desperation, "can we..."

Donghyuck trailed off, his face turning pink, but he didn't have to continue for Mark to know exactly what he wanted. It pained the king to have to push down his own instincts, hold himself back from acting on the desire churning deep in the pits of his stomach, but he still managed to bring himself to shake his head, looking down at the omega apologetically.

"I'm sorry, honey," Mark murmured, pressing another sweet peck against Donghyuck's lips in apology. "We can't, not yet. Not until our wedding night."

Donghyuck let out a breathy whine, looping his arms around Mark's neck. "Why? You're the king, right? You can do whatever you want."

Mark laughed, brushing his thumb gently across Donghyuck's lower lip. "I have to uphold the traditions. If I get my hands on you... I'm not going to be able to hold myself back, I might give you a mating bite before the ceremony... and that would get me in big trouble with the counsel of priests."