Euthymia

Fruitless Love

Sehun decided he wanted kids at sixteen years old. A normal age to be thinking about omegas, driven more by hormones than logic. Yet Sehun demonstrated an outstanding, almost alarming certainty regarding his future. While most alphas his age had sex on their minds twenty-four-seven and hooted and hollered at any omega they laid eyes on, Sehun dreamed of starting a family.

This worked in Suho's favor. See, he and Sehun's parents had been plotting since their childrens' earliest years that Sehun would be married to Baekhyun. This way, Suho didn't have to relinquish control and hand over the Gangnam gang to an omega, regardless of his birthright. Baekhyun needed a strong, capable, and business-savvy alpha husband to take the reins from him without directly conflicting with the family inheritance tradition. Suho and the Oh's wanted Sehun on the Gangnam throne, and the only way to make that possible was to have him marry into the family.

Fortunately for them, it just so happened that Sehun fell madly in love with Baekhyun before he was old enough to understand what love truly meant. Suho recalled a time when the children were no older than ten, before they hit puberty and reached the age when alphas and omegas began feeling different about each other. At this time, the two frequently saw one another, being taken to each others' diamond district penthouses for playdates. Sehun saw Baekhyun all dolled up in an expensive blue coat and designer white beret because Suho loved to dress him like a little gem. He saw this omega – an omega he'd seen nearly everyday for his ten years of life – and lit up like a raging fire. He turned to his mother, who was dropping him off for the playdate, and said "I want him. Can we get married when we're older?"

And he meant it. Sehun refused anyone else. He wouldn't entertain the idea of finding another omega, even if the omega wanted him back. No, he craved what he couldn't have. He yearned for the one who didn't want him. He demanded to have what wasn't his.

Sehun smiled, kissed the back of Baekhyun's hand like a prince, offered his jacket in the rain, carried him on his back when his feet hurt, blew his thousand dollar allowance on shiny gifts, snuggled with Baekhyun in his bed and wrapped him up in his arms. But when he gave up his heart, put forward all of his feelings, surrendered his everything to Baekhyun, the omega's only reaction was "quit being weird; you're acting like we're boyfriends or something."

Just friends. Those two words nestled in Sehun's heart like two lead bullets. Never leaving, always leaking poison into his bloodstream. Baekhyun said to him all the time we're just friends, only friends, forever friends, my best friend, my closest friend. But nothing more.

Until puberty hit. Until the heats and the ruts made them act embarrassed and blush around the other. Until their bodies changed and, suddenly, something became attractive about soulmates and sex.

Everyone had a boyfriend or a girlfriend by that age. Everyone wanted someone. Everyone in their social circle of old money and spoiled attitudes felt the pressure to gain some maturity. Alphas became black suits, iced watches, slick hair, earthy cologne. Omegas became pearl earrings, diamond rings, hair ribbons, flowery perfume. The alphas felt the need to show off, overcompensate, and have a beauty on their arm at all times. The omegas wanted to attract hungry eyes, flutter their eyelashes, and put themselves in peril so an alpha will have an excuse to take care of them.

This was the age of bad decisions, sexual tension, rushed relationships, monthly breakups, weekly hookups, careless spending, million dollar parties, pregnancy scares, non consensual touching, illegal champagne chugging, naked bodies, peeping Tom's, high school crushes, hallway blushes, thigh hickies, stolen sweatshirts, overpriced corsages. This was the age of adult pressures and talk of futures, college plans and business heirs, wedding whispers and social shunning. Suddenly, everyone had to want something, to want someone. Everyone had to have everything figured out.