#skz pack

It had started last month during their weekly movie night. Whenever it was Hyunjin's turn to choose a film he nearly always picked romance, and that particular week was no exception. He had selected a cute office-romance that had been receiving good reviews and the pack all settled in to watch, with a few grumbles from the likes of Minho and Seungmin who protested that there was a new action-thriller out that they should watch instead. Chan had reminded them both that it was Hyunjin's turn to choose and so they were going to watch whatever he wanted, and it had only taken one sharp look from the pack leader for the pair of them to fall silent.

The film turned out to be pretty good, and Hyunjin was sitting on the floor of the living room clutching a pillow to his chest and kicking his feet while he watched the on-screen couple kiss for the first time.

"Ahhhh so cute! Aren't they so cute?"

When he didn't receive an answer, he peered over his shoulder and found to his dismay that none of the others were even paying attention. Felix had his eyes closed, curled up against Chan and smiling while his mate gently peppered kisses over Felix's forehead and cheeks. Jisung had fallen asleep on Minho's chest and was snoring quietly while Minho watched him with such a soft expression it might have made Hyunjin cry under different circumstances. Jeongin was technically looking at the screen, but it was obvious that he was more interested in whatever Seungmin was whispering in his ear than he was in the film. From the blush dusting his cheeks, Hyunjin was fairly certain they weren't discussing the intricacies of the plot.

At first he felt annoyed that none of them were bothering to pay attention to the film he had chosen, and he was about to open his mouth and whine when it suddenly struck him that he was being left out. There he was, sitting all alone on the floor, while the couples were cuddled up on the sofas not giving him a second thought.

Hurt lodged itself in his chest and he felt his eyes grew wet with tears. He wanted to get up and walk out of the room, but he knew if he did then someone would go after him and they would probably tease him for crying and say he was being a drama queen. Maybe he was, but he still felt sad that none of them had invited him to cuddle. As if they had simply forgotten he was there.

Over the following weeks, a few similar incidents occurred that only reinforced Hyunjin's growing paranoia. He was the only unmated pack member, but it had never bothered him too much because all seven of them were in a poly relationship anyway: they all loved each other and had committed to each other via pack bonds, and they all had a sexual relationship. So it wasn't as if he was starved of intimacy or affection, and he had always assumed he would meet his mate one day and then they would become a complete pack of eight.

But it had been over five years since Jeongin, their youngest member, had joined the pack and mated with Seungmin. For a while, there had been a possibility that Seungmin and Hyunjin would become mates: Hyunjin found the younger male unbelievably cute, and only Seungmin could make him howl with laughter until his cheeks ached and he could hardly breathe. For his part, Seungmin was comfortable around Hyunjin while he tended to clash easily with other pack members, and even though he wasn't the biggest fan of skinship he allowed Hyunjin to cuddle up to him without complaining -- and enjoyed it, even though he would deny this to his dying breath.

But as much as they adored each other, there was something not quite there. Hyunjin liked to be lavished with affection: he wanted to be spoiled and complimented, and any type of romantic gesture (be it unexpected gifts or spontaneous acts in the bedroom) made his knees weak. Seungmin was more subtle: he showed his love in quieter ways, like making sure his partners remembered to eat even if they were busy and giving them his own food if they forgot, or recognising when they needed space and when they needed someone to talk to and comfort them. Hyunjin wouldn't change Seungmin for the world, and when Jeongin had arrived and Seungmin was immediately smitten, Hyunjin knew that they had made the right call by never taking that final step.

He had hoped that one day he would find his own Jeongin -- someone who waltzed into his life and was perfect for him. But the years had continued to pass and Hyunjin was still alone. He had a full life: a pack who loved him, a comfortable home, plenty of money, a fulfilling job at a prestigious art dealership. Why couldn't he be content with that? Why did he still carry around an ache in his heart as if something -- someone -- was missing from his life?

Hyunjin didn't like feeling this way, but he stubbornly refused to speak to his pack mates about it. He didn't want to seem pathetic or needy, or worse have them pity him. He couldn't stand the idea of being looked at as the sad lone wolf who was desperate for a mate.

If there was one thing that always made him feel satisfied and cherished, it was good old-fashioned lovemaking. And yes, he called it that instead of fucking -- even if he had been known to scream out "Please fuck me!" in the middle of sex. It still counted as lovemaking if it was with people you loved.

So one Thursday evening when everyone was heading to bed, Hyunjin decided to wander along the corridor to Seungmin and Jeongin's room. He hadn't spent much time with either of them lately, and although Minho and Chan definitely took the top spots for being able to fuck him the hardest (and Hyunjin really needed to be fucked), the younger pair had more stamina, and Hyunjin would happily go without sleep tonight if it meant multiple orgasms.

"Ayenahhh!" he squealed as he launched himself onto the bed on top of their youngest member. Jeongin pretended to cry out in pain, but his beaming smile somewhat ruined the effect. He smelled like his favourite coconut-vanilla shampoo, and his hair was still slightly damp from the shower.

"I's too late for you to be this loud," he complained.

"It's not late," Hyunjin asserted, climbing into Jeongin's lap with a smirk. "In fact, I'd say the night is very young."

He leaned down to kiss him and Jeongin's soft lips responded quickly, but with less passion than Hyunjin would have liked.

"I'm so tired, I don't think I can do anything tonight," he said once they sat back.

"Oh."

Hyunjin's body deflated, feeling disappointed.

"Are you sure I can't convince you?"

"Not tonight," said Jeongin. "Maybe at the weekend though?"

A moment later Seungmin wandered out of the ensuite bathroom with a toothbrush in his mouth. His dark hair was also mussed and still wet. He and Jeongin probably showered together, and they might have fucked already. No wonder Jeongin was tired and not in the mood.

"You okay Jinnie?"

"I was hoping to maybe have a little fun tonight but Innie is tired." He winked at Seungmin. "Unless you're up for it Minnie?"

Hyunjin knew what the answer would be before the other man shook his head. Seungmin was a clean-freak and after he had brushed his teeth he was not interested in engaging in any further sexual activity on a given evening. It was one of his weird quirks that Hyunjin found strange and adorable in equal measure.

"I'm tired too, and I have to be up early for work tomorrow."

Hyunjin nodded. "Okay, I guess we can just cuddle instead."

"You won't just cuddle though, when you're horny you start grinding against people and keeping them awake," said Seungmin.

"I don't!" Hyunjin protested.

"You kind of do," Jeongin added.

"But--"

"Go find Felix, I'm sure he'll cuddle with you whether you're horny or not." With that, Seungmin turned and walked back into the bathroom.

Hyunjin couldn't help feeling like he had just been dismissed. Well, fuck him. He wasn't going to beg to stay if they didn't want him. He crawled off the bed and walked towards the door. Jeongin called goodnight behind him, Seungmin said nothing.

Even if Seungmin was being an asshole, Hyunjin decided to take his advice and go and find Felix. Maybe he needed some affection more than a hard fuck tonight after all, and there was no-one better to give him that than his sunshine. And if he was really lucky, maybe Chan would fuck him while Felix held his hand and kissed him and told him he was beautiful.

Hyunjin practically ran to Felix and Chan's room, and he was about to open the door when he heard a soft but deep moan coming from inside. His cock stirred in his pants. Sure enough when he pushed the door open and peeked inside he had to stifle a gasp at the sight before him.

Felix and Chan were both naked, spread out on the bed with Chan on his back and Felix slowly sliding up and down his cock. From this angle, Hyunjin had a perfect view of the pack leader's thick length disappearing into Felix's tiny hole, stretching him out while the blonde whimpered and leaned down to pull him into a desperate kiss.

Hyunjin's mouth practically watered. He couldn't decide which of them he was more jealous of: whether he wanted Felix to ride his cock instead or whether he wanted to take his place and have Chan stretching out his hole until it felt like he would burst. His own cock stiffened and he was about to walk into the room and join them on the bed when something stopped him.

"I love you."

The words were so quiet, so delicate as they fell from Felix's trembling lips. Barely more than a whisper, a whisper that was meant for one person alone.

Chan reached up to cup his face and brushed a strand of Felix's hair behind his ear. The gesture was so tender that Hyunjin felt guilty for witnessing it.

The pack leader spoke to Felix so quietly that Hyunjin couldn't hear what he said, he could only watch Chan's fingers trace down Felix's spine and wrap Felix's small body in his strong arms. If Chan had looked over he would have spotted Hyunjin watching them, but he never once took his eyes off his mate.

With a stinging heart, Hyunjin closed the door. There was no place for him in that room. 

At this point, he was beginning to feel less horny and simply lonely. He would honestly just take a hug from one of his pack mates right now. With only one room left to try, Hyunjin found himself outside Minho and Jisung's door.

He couldn't hear any noises coming from inside, but he decided to knock anyway.

At first there was no answer, and then footsteps padded across the room and the door opened to reveal Minho. He looked very domestic in his black-framed glasses, grey sweatpants and baggy t-shirt that Hyunjin was fairly certain used to belong to Chan. Swapping clothes was one of the many benefits of their relationship.

"Oh, Hyunjin," said Minho. "You need something?"

Behind him, Hyunjin could see Jisung lounging on the bed with a paused Studio Ghibli film on his laptop. They must have been watching it together.

"Nothing in particular I just... Can I join you both?"

He was dying to fall into Minho's strong arms and be carried to the bed, where he could cuddle up between him and Jisung. He didn't much care whether they had sex or whether they just watched the rest of whatever film was playing, as long as he could get some comfort.

And so it felt like a knife in his heart when Minho hesitated and glanced back at Jisung awkwardly.

"Um, actually Jinnie we were hoping to have a night to ourselves," Minho admitted. "Kind of an impromptu date night."

Faced with his third rejection of the evening, there was only so long Hyunjin could remain rational and calm. It was fifty-fifty whether he started crying or yelling, and apparently tonight anger was taking the reins.

"Don't you do that every night? You share a room."

"Yes but we don't always take the time to talk or watch a film together and spend proper quality time with each other," Minho explained.

Hyunjin sighed irritably. "Can you not do it tomorrow instead? I really don't want to be alone tonight."

"I'm sorry Jinnie, we really want to have this time to ourselves--"

"Why?!" Hyunjin burst out. He could pinpoint the exact moment Minho's expression shifted from apologetic to furious.

"What do you mean why? I'm telling you I want to spend time with my mate and you're being selfish."

Hyunjin scoffed. "I'm selfish?! Oh I'm sorry that coming to my pack mates for comfort makes me selfish."

"That doesn't make you selfish. Demanding that we reschedule our date night just because you're bored and want to bother us makes you selfish."

"Oh I'm a bother now?"

"Currently, yes," said Minho coldly.

"Hyunjin," Jisung's head popped up timidly behind Minho's shoulder. "We're not trying to be mean, we just want a little privacy for tonight."

"You can have privacy literally anytime you want. Why is it the one time I come to you and say I need some comfort you're suddenly kicking me out?"

"If you really need comfort you can go to one of the others, but honestly I think you're just being a brat and don't like being told no."

Hyunjin wanted to scream at Minho that he'd already been to all of the others and none of them wanted him, but what was the point? He clearly wasn't wanted here either. Tears were stinging his eyes and he had to swallow back a sob.

"Fine, enjoy your date night," he said bitterly.

"We will. Goodnight."

Minho closed the door and Hyunjin was left standing alone in the corridor again. His arms were wrapped defensively across his chest and his throat burned from the effort of trying not to cry. For a few seconds he was glued to the spot: he couldn't face going back to his empty room, and the pack nest would feel even worse with only him in it.