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Pole kisses: bruises one receives from pole dancing. It is caused by skin-to-metal friction and contact. While it is usually more severe for new dancers, it still appears for experienced ones too!
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The chiming sound from the door lock wakes Seonghwa up, and he hears the wooden furniture softly click afterwards. A glance at the digital clock next to him shows that it is 3:30 in the morning. An egregious time to wake up for a 9-to-5 employee like Seonghwa, but after several years living together with his husband, he is used to it. This is also why he sleeps at 10 P.M. most days, a time that is considered quite early for an average 27-year-old like himself.
At first, most of his friends complained about his bedtime, but they stopped commenting on his early finish to their gaming session after he told them the actual reason.
“Wow, you are so down bad for your husband,” Yunho sighed when Seonghwa said his good night during their latest call, their weekly Valorant rounds paused on their screen.
Seonghwa just rolled his eyes. “Like you wouldn’t do the same for Mingi.”
“Shut up,” huffed Yunho.
So there Seonghwa is, pushing his arm against the mattress to prop himself up, his eyes still half closed. His body is screaming at him to lie back down on the cushy surface, but he can smell the scent of his husband outside, and he wants to greet him as soon as possible. It has only been a few hours since Seonghwa last saw him (6 hours before to be exact, but who’s counting), but he still misses him anyway.
He stands up from the bed with a heavy sigh, shaking his head and ruffling his hair to wake himself up further before walking towards the living room.
“Yeobo,” his husband breathes in surprise when Seonghwa’s disheveled self steps out of the bedroom, his longer hair rumpled and sticking out. “I’m sorry. Did I wake you up?”
“Nnh.” Seonghwa realizes he doesn’t have the energy to speak yet–his throat is dry from sleep–so he shakes his head instead, hoping Jongho understands that it’s not his fault and he shouldn’t apologize.
“Let me clean up and join you in bed, yeah? I reek.”
With his eyes still half-closed, Seonghwa zombie-walks towards where Jongho is before circling his arms around the other man’s waist, putting his nose right on his husband’s neck, close to where his scent gland is.
Jongho is unfortunately right: a dizzying mixture of aroused alpha scents surrounds his body, and it is disgusting. Think a mix of burnt coffee, sharp herbs, something weirdly greasy and fatty, and wet mud. It can make him gag if he’s not careful, but Seonghwa is so attuned to his omega’s real scent that he can pinpoint Jongho’s sweet ambrosia apple scent amongst all of the sharp scents, especially when he inhales it straight from the other man’s neck.
His mate just chuckles at Seonghwa nuzzling him, letting his hand rake through the older man’s hair softly as he presses his nose on Jongho’s skin. “Honey, I can wash all of this out, and you can scent me again afterwards? I’m sure that will be more enjoyable for you,” he offers, to which Seonghwa answers with a pleased hum.
Seonghwa knows he should let go of Jongho’s waist so the younger man can head to the shower, but it is so hard to detach himself from the man’s warmth. His omega always feels so soft and comfortable in his embrace, and Seonghwa only feels complete whenever they touch each other. That is the only time the omega inside him is satisfied, being close to his mate and taking care of him.
With an exaggerated sigh, Seonghwa drops his arms from the other. Jongho leans up to give him a peck on his lips, giggling. “Wait in bed for me?”
As Jongho walks towards the bathroom, Seonghwa finally notices that the other man is wearing his loose gray hoodie and sweatpants. As Seonghwa is taller, the clothes are slightly too long for Jongho. The pants bunch around his ankles cutely, while the sleeves give the younger sweater paws. Seonghwa coos at how adorable his omega is before remembering that the oversized clothes hide what Jongho is wearing on the inside.
In contrast to Seonghwa’s boring corporate job, Jongho chooses to become a dancer at the Your Fantasy Night Club downtown. It suits his love of dance and performing, allowing him to express himself freely, especially with how queer friendly the place is.
But when he’s honest with himself, Seonghwa admittedly is not a fan of the nasty scents that always cling to his mate’s body whenever he comes home from work–an unfortunate side effect for said career.
Seonghwa visits the club to watch his husband once in a while, especially on weekends and national holidays, and he often sees at first hand the lewd comments thrown at the younger man. The first few times he saw that he instantly bristled, his protective side kicking out, but Jongho always handled the unruly customers so effortlessly, ignoring their unwanted advances seamlessly that Seonghwa stopped being too sheltering. He fully trusts that Jongho knows what he’s doing, so he chooses to respect his choice and help only when he’s needed.
It’s also the fact that Jongho talks so highly about the security in the club and how well his manager, Wooyoung, treats him that makes Seonghwa calm, believing that his husband is in good hands.
And it doesn’t beat the giddy feeling Seonghwa experiences whenever he sees Jongho’s laugh as he shows off a new pole trick he just mastered to Seonghwa–the bright ha ha ha sound filling their living room–proud that his hard work results in something that can wow the older man.
Tonight, with it being near the holiday season, Jongho chooses to wear a skimpy parody of a Santa outfit. It consists of a bikini set with holographic red color, the polyester stretched across the younger’s body, emphasizing his curves. The top is tiny triangles connected with thin strings, the fabric barely covering his nipples and areolas. It has no structural integrity, leaving the man’s chest hanging low. The bottom is a thong, and once again, the fabric is only enough to tuck his dick and sizable balls securely and nothing else. Sometimes Seonghwa wonders how those scraps of fabric manage to stay on during all the movement Jongho has to do in the performance, but he realizes that the audiences cheer the loudest whenever there’s a nip slip, so maybe the unreliability of the outfit is on purpose.
To complete the ensemble–although Jongho is not wearing them anymore on the walk home–his messenger bag contains a cheap Santa hat and fluffy white cuffs for his wrists, completing the sexy and cutesy look for the night.
Per their usual ritual, Jongho showed the entire outfit to Seonghwa before he headed out for work earlier in the night, and it took everything within the older man to hold himself back from putting possessive bites all around the exposed skin. He understood that Jongho would not appreciate that, so he settled on putting the small pearl earrings he got for their second anniversary on the younger man. Combined with the deep dents on the younger’s neck from their mating bite, both are symbols that, despite what other people do in the club, at the end of the day, Jongho is his.
.
While waiting for the younger man, Seonghwa trudges back into the bedroom. He turns only the small lamp on the bedside table, the warm yellow light glows in the small room. It is bright enough for Seonghwa to see everything, but not too blinding to his sensitive eyes.
Their small bedroom is minimalistic yet cozy, with the king-sized bed taking most of the space, a small bedside table, a wardrobe, and a mini fridge at the other end of the room. They only have the items needed for their nest and their shared heats, opting to put everything else in the living room instead.
Despite the small amount of furniture in the room, the couple arranges their bed as cozily as possible for their nest. There are cushions surrounding all four edges of the bed. Two big pillows are placed at the top of the bed, and longer pillows are scattered around. While Seonghwa doesn’t care much for soft toys, Jongho prefers to hug them when he sleeps, so there are a pink bunny and a brown bear plush on the bed. They also put several comforters, one of them already unfolded when Seonghwa used it in his sleep. During their heats, there will be more clothes containing their scents woven into the nest, but for now, the bed is comfortable enough for both men.
After grabbing the tube of arnica gel from the drawer, Seonghwa settles in the middle of their bed. He clears out a space in front of him and puts a pillow at his side for Jongho to rest his head on later. He also put a small blanket on the other side of the bed, for the younger man to cover his legs just in case he gets too cold.
Jongho pads over the door not long afterwards, his hair damp and skin dewy from the shower. His face is bare of makeup, cheeks naturally rosy from the heat. For today, he chooses to wear a soft, billowy black babydoll–enough to cover parts of his body, but short enough that Seonghwa doesn’t need to take it off of him to take care of the younger man. The light fabric can be shifted easily to expose the parts Seonghwa needs to put the gel on. And because the clothes are loose enough, he doesn’t have to worry that the fabric will scrape the gel off after he applies them.
Seonghwa also notes the lack of scent coming from Jongho as it was scrubbed clean under the water, their scent neutralizing soap working perfectly. Only a faint smell of apple is left on Jongho, sweet on his skin. While the omega’s scent is soothing by itself, Seonghwa is already itching to add his own fresh strawberry scent into the mix–each scent feels incomplete on its own. But he has to hold himself back for now, as there is something he needs to do beforehand.
“Lie down here, baby, let me take care of you,” Seonghwa says while patting the spot in front of him.
The younger man follows Seonghwa’s direction and lies down on his front, resting his head on the pillow that the other man prepared. The firm mattress dips below him as he shifts in place–trying to find a comfortable spot–and he sighs in relief as he can finally rest his body, sore from the hours of dancing he did at the club.
“I’ll start with your upper back first, okay?” Seonghwa squeezes the gel from the tube and puts a big dollop on his index and middle fingers. “It will be cold,” he warns.
“Mmhm.”
Seonghwa starts on the dip between the younger’s clavicles and spine. There are faint vertical marks on the muscles running from the dip up to the shoulders, caused by various tricks that require Jongho to use the shoulder mount. It is one of the younger’s favorite moves as they are often flashy, but one of the side effects is that it is quite painful. While Jongho has incredibly high pain tolerance, his skin still bears the bruises left by the moves after he performs them several times at night.
“Does it hurt?” Seonghwa asks when he notices the younger’s sighs as he applies the cold gel on the mark, careful not to press on the bruised skin too much.
“No. Just sore,” mumbled Jongho, his eyes half-closed.
The older man continues putting the gel on Jongho’s broad back, shifting the soft dress when he needs to reach the bruise in the middle of the back.
“Was it crowded tonight?”
It is Wednesday night, so usually it is quieter at the club, but with the amount of awful scents surrounding his omega when he arrived earlier, Seonghwa guesses that it is one of those rare weeknights. This is especially common when it’s near the holiday.
“Kind of. There was a group of alphas doing a bachelor party coming in, and they were quite rowdy. They gave a lot of tips, though, so I don’t mind.”
Seonghwa hums, letting the younger man yaps about the audience tonight, telling him about a drunk alpha that was going to grab him when he was dancing at the pole before San–one of the bouncers–bodyslammed and dragged the unruly patron away.
“And I was literally upside-down on the pole! That was a crazy timing to grope someone; I could literally kick his head while I was spinning,” he giggles tiredly, the mirthful sound reverberating in the otherwise quiet room.
“Yeah, you should’ve done that. Then I can punch him next,” added Seonghwa.
“Oh, I would love to watch that,” Jongho sighs dreamily. “My strong omega protecting me,” the younger says.
Seonghwa laughs at the silly comment, continues treating the younger’s bruises, now the ones dotted on the lower back. “We should invite Wooyoung and San for dinner next time. I want to thank them for taking care of you.”
“Double dates would be fun,” Jongho agrees. “They are annoying sometimes, but they help me a lot. When are you thin– oh fuck! Yes, that’s the spot.”
The older omega’s fingers deftly knead on the firm butt, gently massaging the muscle knots. The bottom is soft to the touch, yet the muscles make it perky, and Seonghwa always loves just kneading them at all times. Jongho groans at the ministrations, and while it sounds like he’s in pain, his scent sweetens considerably, so Seonghwa knows that his hand is giving the younger man relief from his hard work.
Once he doesn’t feel any significant muscle knots under his fingers (and a few extra minutes of just fondling, because who doesn’t love touching Jongho’s butt), Seonghwa adds in a firm slap to the appendage, watching it bounce before moving to his thighs. Lots of the bruises are located in the inner thighs; this is because a lot of pole moves start with a basic pole sit, where the pole is pressed between the dancer’s thighs. This foundational move puts a lot of pressure and friction on the inner thigh skin, and while Jongho’s skin toughens with years of experience, treating it would still be beneficial, as it may get worse hours later.
Jongho breathes out when Seonghwa moves onto massaging the back of his calves. The older omega always spends more time kneading the muscles in that area, as Jongho always complains about his sore legs. Seonghwa doesn’t mind doing the work, loving to spend the quiet time before he has to go for his own boring job to freely explore his mate’s body like he has all the time in the world, the act intimate and soothing for his soul.
“Did you game with Yunho last night?” The younger asks, remembering the other man’s weekly call.
“Yeah. He sucked, though. His aim was going everywhere. It’s like he was distracted by something.”
“Did Mingi suck him off from under the table again?”
Seonghwa's jaw dropped at the question, his fingers pausing right above the younger’s calves. “He did what?”
“Oh, did I not tell you that? Those freaks sent their videos to me and asked if I was interested in doing it to you too.”
Seonghwa blushes at the suggestion, his mind immediately imagining how hot it would look when Jongho–whose broad body barely fits in the space under his gaming desk–stays there doing unspeakable things while he tries to ignore him and game.
Jongho smirks when he notices how quiet the older man has suddenly gotten. “We can try that during your next weekly call.”
After Seonghwa splutters his okay, he dips his fingers back into the meaty part of Jongho’s calves, massaging the tired muscles there. He continues with the ankles next, helping the younger man carefully roll his feet, stretching the limbs. Putting his fist at the center of the soles, Seonghwa presses down while using the other hand to flex and point Jongho’s feet in an interval. At a particular deep kneading with his right foot flex, it hits a nerve inside, making the younger whimper at the treatment.
“Oh, sorry,” muttered Seonghwa, immediately releasing the pressure.
Jongho lets out a sigh when he feels the older man caress his feet as an apology. “No, it’s fine. I think the new Pleasers I got are not fitted correctly.”
“Does it hurt when you wear it?”
“It’s just slightly too tight,” complained the omega. “It’s unfortunate. I really like the blue glitter too.”
Seonghwa hums, continuing his light massage on the sole of his mate’s feet while he thinks. “I can try stretching the plastic parts again with thick socks and a hair dryer if you want? And I can ask Sangie if his partner has something like an extension for the straps from the heels he designed.”
Jongho perks up at the suggestions, pushing his arms to get up from the mattress. Leaning closer to the older man, he presses a firm kiss to Seonghwa’s lips as thanks, grateful that his husband is always there to support him. “That would be great, yeobo. You always have the best ideas. Hongjoong-hyung probably has things that can help with it.”
“Okay. I’ll text Yeosang later in the afternoon. Now, turn to your back; I need to treat your front.” Seonghwa smiles at how excited the younger man looks. He must really like the sandals. Cute.
The younger omega shifts and settles back down, lying on his back. “There’s not a lot at the front, I think, only on my arms and waist.”
As Seonghwa puts the cold gel on the bluish bruise in the inner section of the biceps, Jongho gets reminded about the shopping they did the week before.
“Wait, was your Secret Santa day yesterday too?” The younger asks.
“No, that will be today.”
“I hope Yeosang-hyung and Hongjoong-hyung love your gift.”
“They will. Your idea of giving them baby onesies in a series of age ranges is cool,” Seonghwa complimented. The alpha couples, Yeosang and Hongjoong, have just adopted a cute baby to add to their family. As the omegas shop for an appropriate secret Santa gift in the mall, Jongho notices a display of cute sets of baby onesies with woodland creature prints like squirrels and deer on them in one of the storefronts, and Seonghwa agrees how useful it will be to have a variety of sizes with how fast babies grow. The older man just finished wrapping them inside a box last night, ready to be carried for the exchange event today at the office. The shopping also leads them to contemplate if any of them want to try for kids, but that is a story for another day.
After checking that there is no visible bruise left on either arm, Seonghwa places his hand on the younger’s torso, on top of the delicate babydoll. “I’ll do your waist next?”
“Yes, please,” answered the younger, grabbing the edge of the black dress and pulling it up.
It feels insane that even after years of being together, of them seeing each other naked daily, Seonghwa’s heart still flutters whenever he sees Jongho’s body. With the reveal of the soft tummy, the older omega immediately presses his fingers against the fat, feeling how it moves against the pressure. His thumb caresses over the silky skin, softened by the moisture from the shower. Seonghwa sighs at how pliable the younger man feels under him, how perfect his body feels on his hands. He wishes he could spend forever just taking the time to touch each part of Jongho, appreciating each part of his body. But he has to continue, wanting to leave enough time for a proper scenting after this.
“Oh, can you also put some on the top of my feet, please?” the younger requests once Seonghwa finishes putting the medicine on his waist.
Seonghwa notices the large blue bruise, especially prominent on the top of the younger’s left foot. “Is that from that one X move?”
“X move?” Jongho giggles. “Do you mean Starfish?”
“Yeah, that one. That looks like it hurts,” commented the older man, eyeing how deep the color of the bruise is and wondering if Jongho would even be able to wear his shoes normally with that. The younger man has been practicing that particular trick for a while on the pole installed in their living room. As Seonghwa watches how Jongho tries to use only his feet and ankles on the pole to keep his entire body floating entirely horizontally, the older omega finally realizes how crazy brave Jongho is. While Seonghwa himself loves thrilling activities once in a while, the move the younger man is practicing just looks downright suicidal.
“Yeah, this one kinda hurts,” admitted Jongho. “I think my feet just have to get used to it.”
The older man put a glob of the gel on his fingers before putting it on the blue spot. He feels the ridges of the protruding veins and bones as he does so, careful not to put too much pressure on the younger’s limbs. The substance spreads thinly over the skin, leaving the surface with a light sheen. Seonghwa looks around the younger’s body again, making sure he doesn’t miss anything before closing the lid on the tube with a click and putting it aside on the bed.
“Can I scent you now?”
“Please.”
Crawling towards on top of Jongho, Seonghwa settles on the younger’s torso, his knees caging the other man’s waist. He then leans down, pressing a soft kiss on Jongho’s forehead. He feels the arm of the man below him circling his waist, the hand dipping inside his loose shirt to caress his bare skin.
“Honey, please.”
“Patience, baby bear.”
Seonghwa keeps his slow tempo, kissing the younger omega’s eyebrows, then moving down onto his closed eyelids. A peck on his round nose, another one on his plump cheeks. The skin feels silky on his lips, the taste sweet. He moves to brush his lips against the younger’s earlobes, causing Jongho to gasp, his fingers gripping on Seonghwa’s back.
“Ho-ney,” whined Jongho.
Seonghwa notes the tinge of desperation in his tone. He guesses that, like him, the younger omega also feels unsettled without his scent intermingling on the other’s skin. Their bond longs for each other, the wolves only satisfied when they are intertwined. Even when they touch each other like this, they always crave a deeper connection, beyond what is possible physically.
Hearing the younger man’s begging, Seonghwa relents.
Jongho moans when the older man finally presses their scent glands together, rubbing the sensitive patch of skin together. The smell of apple and strawberry finally interlaced together like the most scrumptious dessert. Both men shudder as they feel their bond clicks, everything is finally right.
“You smell so good,” Jongho whines, his hand holding the back of Seonghwa’s head to press their necks closer. He nuzzles, pressing his nose to the older man’s hair.
In a usual setting, the younger omega hates sweetness, always refusing to eat most desserts other than less-sugar ice cream. But his mate’s scent is the only exception, the strawberry addicting, enveloping his entire sense. It enhances his own ambrosia apple scent, the aroma fusing together into a delightful essence.
Seonghwa lifts his head, looking right down onto the younger’s face. Both their faces are warm, the redness dusting Jongho’s cheeks. The younger omega looks beautiful under the dim light, the lamp casting a subtle halo on his round face.
He truly looks like an angel.
Coming down to earth, blessing Seonghwa with the gift of companionship by being his bonded mate.
“Yeobo?”
As Seonghwa blinks to focus, he notices the satisfied smile on Jongho's face. It makes the older man grin, love to see how happy he looks. He leans down to peck at the other’s lips. With the intensity of their smell–fresh from scenting–Seonghwa feels like tasting the apple-strawberry mix at the tip of his tongue.
“I love you,” whispered Seonghwa, his lips only inches away from the other man.
Jongho’s eyes widen at the sudden confession, before they crinkle into slits as he giggles. “I love you too,” he replies as he presses his lips up onto Seonghwa’s.
The older man shifts to kiss and scent the other parts of the younger’s body, starting from a small peck on his chin and moving down to his neck. He kisses the mole at the right side of his neck, rubbing his gland on the skin to make sure it sticks. More kisses on the clavicles, the moles on the right side of his chest, close to the edge of his babydoll dress. He then moves onto Jongho’s arms, kissing the biceps while being careful not to wipe off the cold gel he applied earlier. Moving to the arms, rubbing their wrists together to mix their aroma. Lifting Jongho’s hand to his lips, leaving smooches on the knuckles, the back of his hand, to the tip of the younger’s fingers.
He leaves no inch of skin untouched, adoring all of the younger omega.
Lifting up the light dress, Seonghwa moves to leave kisses on all the moles scattered on Jongho’s body, the dots like a constellation of stars on his skin. His hands move around to rub his scent, the touches delicate. The older man takes his time on his personal favorite part, kissing the soft tummy, mouthing on the plush skin. Leaving light bites on the skin, enough to last for a few hours but not permanent enough that it hinders the man’s next performance at the club. The supple skin blushes pink under him, like blooming cherry blossoms scattering across the younger’s torso.
It’s beautiful, a perfect compliment for Jongho.
“Oh, you don’t need to–” Jongho starts when Seonghwa moves to lift the other man’s legs up, pressing a kiss on the right inner thigh.
“But I want to,” mumbled the older man, nuzzling the sensitive skin underneath him.
The younger omega sighs and moans from the delicate kisses, placed reverently on each mole, vein, and bruise. Seonghwa covers his muscly thighs, calves, and ankles with more smooches, petting the skin to rub his scent on. With more pecks placed, Jongho melts onto the bed, his limbs heavy with Seonghwa’s love. The final few kisses lay onto the soles of his feet, to the tip of his toes.
When Seonghwa turns his head towards Jongho's face, he sees the younger man looking at him, his cheeks blushing red. “How are you feeling?”
Jongho reaches his arms out, a silent request for the older man to come back up to him, which Seonghwa willingly complies.
“Good?” He asks again after he moves up, their faces now close to each other.
“Perfect,” whispered the younger, tilting his head up to brush his lips to those of the other man.
Seonghwa presses down, deepening the kiss. He slips his left hand to cradle the back of Jongho’s head, his fingers tangling with the other’s hair. Slightly opening his mouth, the older man nibbles on the other’s lower lip, sucking it wet. His right hand lingers on Jongho’s neck, rubbing over his scent gland, feeling the dents from his mating bite under his fingertips.
The sensation on his gland sweetens Jongho’s essence, and Seonghwa cannot help but smirk at how pliant the younger is underneath him. His tongue gives kitten licks on the damp lips, urging Jongho to open his mouth wider so he can glide it in. It tangles with Jongho’s tongue, the moan bubbling out from deep in his throat. The younger tastes as sweet as he smells, his favorite ambrosia apple. Seonghwa indulges in the sensation, letting his tongue explore and trace the inside of Jongho’s mouth, his heart warms.
He feels the younger fingers grip his waist, holding and thumbing on his toned torso as he leads the kiss, pulling out the tongue to trace Jongho’s lips and pushing the tip again deep repeatedly, imitating the way they usually spend their time intermingling their bodies.
But this time, both men are satisfied with using the moment just luxuriating in the kisses, closing their eyes and pressing their lips closer than they already are. Their bonds thrumming gold through their veins, their wolves purring within their passion. Their hands continue caressing their bodies over their clothes, recognizing all inches of each other at this point, remembering all parts of it even without sight and with the tips of their fingers hindered by a layer of thin fabric.
With their scents fused into one and weaving through their body, their hearts settle, their minds calm.
With each other’s presence, they have enough.