Chapter thirty-two
The rays of the morning sun sipped in through the open window, painting the walls in beautiful shades of orange and yellow. The bright light filtered through Taehyung's thin eyelids, making him wake up from the land of dreams.
There was a warmth surrounding the omega's body. It took him a while to realize with his sleepy confusion, the reason he felt so hot. Jungkook's strong arm was draped over him, his back pressed against the alpha's hard chest.
The first detail of his day that Taehyung registered was the uncomely way his cheek sticked to his pillow. It was starchy, unpleasant, but he knew he needed to only peel his face away to free himself. So, he did just that, rolling to his back and groaning when his skin tugged free of the dried drool he had left on his sheets, only to realize how drenched his thighs and covers were with old slick and sweat.
His head felt flooded, and he had to blink roughly against the light peering in through the large windows. It couldn't be more than late morning, possibly nearing lunch time as he observed the view outside. If it wasn't for his pounding headache and aching limbs, he'd gain the energy to move towards the curtains and close them fully, but he much preferred the comfort of Jungkook's warmth for a few more minutes.
The alpha slowly started to drift awake as well, blinking groggily against the sleep in his eyes as the events from the previous night came rushing back, filling his chest with an unexplainable happiness. He gazed at the omega that was lying next to him, enjoying the view of his sun kissed skin and peaceful attire. Taehyung always looked absolutely stunning in the mornings, the light reflecting on him in a way that accentuated his best features.
The entire chamber was filled with strawberry perfume, Taehyung's pheromones drenching the area and he could already guess it was his heat that placed him in this groggy state.
"Morning..." Jungkook suddenly murmured from besides him, voice octaves lower than usual and it made the omega blush way more than he should – especially after so many days of non-stop sex and screams of immense pleasure.
Taehyung nodded like he was in a daze, his eyes glassy and unfocused as he tried to make sense of Jungkook's words. He brought his hand up to rub at the eye crusties that had gathered at the corners of his tired irises. The omega attempted to sit up, wincing when lingering pain vibrated down his body. It had been quite some time since a heat caused him this much agony.
"Are you okay?" Jungkook questioned, bolting up in the bed, senses alert and alpha instincts going rampant through his brain. He drew closer, eyes analyzing his frame like he was apt to find some issue with the omega.
"Just a bit drained." Taehyung responded weakly, shifting his body into a sitting position, curling an arm around his upset stomach. He hated the aftermath of every heat – where he was left exhausted and in pain. The ache in his body was dull, presenting, and uncomfortable. Having your heat after two years of unexplainable lapse could be definitely considered as a new, weird experience.
He was just so tired, having barely been able to sleep or eat the past few days from the intensity of the pain thrumming in his body relentlessly. It had died down since yesterday, after all his heat should technically be over but for some god-forsaken reason it was just hell this time.
Jungkook slowly inched closer to the omega and draped an arm around his small frame to let Taehyung rest his head on his shoulder. The omega gladly welcomed the action and curled into the alpha's side, his gentle touch putting his heart into motion.
"Your heat was longer than usual." Jungkook spoke up next to him, kissing the top of Taehyung's head, carefully massaging the tense muscles on his neck.
"Longer?" The omega's brow darted upwards. His heats were average at best and while his mate was the usual relief for them in the past, they never lasted longer than three days. He expected the same cycle this time around but to his surprise Jungkook offered him a pitying look, as if he knew the news, he was about to share were going to startle him.
"You've been in heat for seven days, Tae."
Holly shit.
Taehyung couldn't hold back the gasp he released, eyes widening a fraction at the statement. Seven days of nothing but pain and fevers, and a few blurs of memories here and there should he be blessed enough to remember them at all. It was a long time to be incapacitated and Taehyung had to wonder what he had missed in those long seven days within his chambers.
"Don't worry your pretty head with this now." Jungkook assured him, blinking lazily as he leaned in even closer, pressing their foreheads together and filling Taehyung up, up, up with a warmth so potent it left him out of breath. "You can rest for as long as you want, I'll let the warriors know you'll be absent for a while."
Jungkook was hit with the urge to take care of the fragile omega, make him eat an actual meal for probably the first time in days, make him drink some water, and wash his skin gently as he rubbed away all the sweat and stress of spending a heat.
Taehyung couldn't describe his gratitude with words, the alpha was truly too good for him, and he felt like tearing up right here and there. Blame the omega pheromones for his sensitivity, he couldn't care less about it when he had someone like Jungkook by his side.
"Have I ever told you how fucking happy I am to have you?" The omega questioned, his sweet giggles resonating across the chamber, warming up Jungkook's insides.
He leaned down to nuzzle his lover, smiling when he heard the deep, vibrating chuckle of the omega. "Yes, but I wouldn't mind if you did it again." Jungkook tugged Taehyung's body back down next to him, causing the omega to yelp in utter surprise—not expecting the sudden loving, yet simultaneously aggressive manhandling.
"Kook," Taehyung whined as soon as his back reached the fluffy mattress, again, but he knew it was over for him, now, as his walls came crumbling down. "It took me so much willpower to sit up in the first place! How am I going to get out of the bed now?"
The sigh Jungkook let out was sweet, and as if he couldn't bear not holding Taehyung right now, he wrapped his arms snugly around the omega's petite waist. Pulling him even closer, chests pressing together, and bodies aligned.
"You don't have to get out of the bed." The alpha answered, feeling how Taehyung's hands moved down to his back, gently touching the marks left behind from his lashings. Jungkook could only smile at the concern, moving to kiss the omega with whispers of being okay and he shouldn't worry for him.
"And If I want to use the bathroom?" Taehyung wiggled his eyebrows playfully, causing the alpha to roll his eyes at the possibility.
"I will have to carry you." Jungkook said confidently, as if the mere suggestion of carrying the omega to other places entertained him.
The alpha's lips claimed the laugh Taehyung breathed out, molding their mouths together so much deeper than before and coaxing a sigh from the omega's chest.
"Make sure to visit Areum tomorrow." Jungkook whispered hotly against his skin, finding another spot behind his ear that made the omega's breath hitch once, twice, breaths staccato bursts as he felt heat flush through his system.
Taehyung simply hummed back, a teasing grin on his features that the alpha was tempted to kiss away. His fingers combed through the raven locks of Jungkook's curly hair, untying some of the knots that had formed there. "Why? Afraid I may carry yours pups?"
"We're in the middle of a war, Tae." The alpha loathed to say these words, but they both knew better than to aimlessly fall into this affair with no sense of consequence, no matter how much the prospect of creating a family with the omega enthused him.
Taehyung frowned. Thoughtful, but disagreement showed heavily in his eyes. "Still," the omega said and slid his hands easily to Jungkook's chest, feeling the beat of his heart against his fingertips, a gentle thrum that ran a bit quick but still as steady as ever. Much like Taehyung's heart now. "I wouldn't mind starting a family with you one day."
They were aware of how sensitive the topic could be when it came to their future. They weren't foolish enough to believe everything would end perfect, but Taehyung refused to let his hopes down. The omega had been through so many intolerable levels of hardship and suffering, he wouldn't mind holding on for a bit longer, because the reward that awaited him by the end of his journey was priceless. Being in the arms of the one he loved and cherished was the greatest of all honors.
"Kim Taehyung, you will be the death of me." Jungkook said breathlessly, and they were close enough that their noses touched, close enough a breath barely fit between them. He lifted Taehyung's chin, so he looked up at him, daydream blue eyes and crystal lashes.
"Will death be our last kiss, my alpha." The omega's head dipped until his forehead was pressed against Jungkook's, his arms winded tight around the alpha's neck, creasing the raven hair.
Jungkook smiled and leaned in to close the gap between their lips. They kissed like convergence, like epiphany. Like relieved, desperate lips and merciful gasps and ripple heartbeats. Not quite like a first time or a hundredth time, more like an infinite time. They kissed until the air between them trembled and they had to pull apart – pull, not break, because neither one of them was really willing to stop but their lungs were going to burst if they didn't.
Things Taehyung knew from this moment on he would never take for granted. Not when Jungkook was the only one to cherish him so wholly, so purely. No one was like him, with his ever-loving eyes that never failed to leave him breathless. How strongly he felt for the alpha—he truly knew how much his lover felt the same, and the inflating warmth in his chest, in the coil tightening inside of him was all overwhelming but so, so good.
So, Taehyung gave his love and took Jungkook's, a give and take so natural between them—as natural as the warmth that kept them bound together, exchanging the comfort they craved from each other.