Prompt: "It's okay Alpha, I'll show you what I like."
Kim Dokja had never expected Yoo Joonghyuk to be awkward about dating. He used to be married to Lee Seolhwa in past regressions, after all! Yet Kim Dokja felt that he, who had never dated anyone before Yoo Joonghyuk, was better at this whole thing than Yoo Joonghyuk himself.
Yoo Joonghyuk's behavior really was strange. He was an alpha and he definitely acted like it most of the time, but not so far in their relationship. Kim Dokja got it. This relationship was new. But certainly they had been together long enough for Joonghyuk to know how to date…?
He considered that maybe Yoo Joonghyuk was just inexperienced dating another alpha. But that was stupid. He'd probably be just as good as dating alphas as he was marrying an omega. So really, Kim Dokja had no idea what was going on, but he knew he needed to find out.
They were at a restaurant one day. Kim Dokja was acutely aware of the fact that people were watching them. They had saved the world. Many years ago now, but this wasn't the sort of thing that people forgot easily. While apparently the other members of Kim Dokja's Company didn't suffer through this too much after they returned from the 1865th regression, Kim Dokja's sudden awakening brought on the attention of many worldwide. He was the namesake of Kim Dokja's Company. They had gone back to the past for him. This world would have been destroyed if not for him.
They didn't have to know that this world never would have even been in danger if it weren't for him.
"Can you make them go away?" Kim Dokja asked the waiter.
The waiter shrugged. "I'm sorry, Kim Dokja-nim, but these are all customers. I can't force them to leave."
Kim Dokja sighed and gave up. He just hoped no one was eavesdropping.
"I haven't been through something this… normal for so long," Yoo Joonghyuk said.
Kim Dokja thought about it. Yoo Joonghyuk had been through more than a thousand regressions. All of them started right when the apocalypse began. Normality was no longer something that existed for Yoo Joonghyuk.
Even after the end of the 1864th regression, he didn't get to keep a normal life for long. He had gone to the 1865th regression, then after returning, he had spent two years on his own, then spent even more time traveling between worldlines with Biyoo to save Kim Dokja.
Kim Dokja started to wonder if that was the reason why Yoo Joonghyuk was bad at dating. He and Lee Seolhwa had never dated before the apocalypse, and they hadn't really been together in the later regressions. But then again, Yoo Joonghyuk had spent a long time believing that the 1864th regression was actually the 3rd… and they had been married in the 2nd…
It was all too confusing.
Strong omega pheromones came from nearby. Kim Dokja turned to see a woman giving them a smirk. He ignored her. Some people were just like this, after all.
He hated all of this attention.
"We should go somewhere else," Yoo Joonghyuk said, clearly also not pleased by the attention.
Kim Dokja stared glumly at their barely touched food, then asked the waiter for a box.
They were walking back to Kim Dokja's Company's house when Yoo Joonghyuk awkwardly reached out and pulled Kim Dokja closer to him. Kim Dokja froze for a moment, then continued on walking, aware of Yoo Joonghyuk's body right next to him, his scent flooding his nose.
It was nice. It wasn't something that happened much, this sort of physical intimacy, especially in a semi-public place. Kim Dokja really enjoyed it.
Though he had to wonder what had made Yoo Joonghyuk hesitate.
The next day, Yoo Joonghyuk brought him breakfast in bed.
Kim Dokja stared at it, then said, "You've… never done this before."
Yoo Joonghyuk looked away. He didn't say anything.
As Kim Dokja ate, he realized this wasn't exactly true. Ways of Survival had started with the 3rd regression, but there were often flashbacks to the 1st and 2nd regression. For example, a scene in the 2nd regression where Yoo Joonghyuk had given Lee Seolhwa breakfast in bed.
…ah. This was the sort of thing that Yoo Joonghyuk often did with his lovers, huh. Not that Yoo Joonghyuk had had many lovers in the past, but the fact that he had done it with both Lee Seolhwa and Kim Dokja… Yeah, that was definitely a trend.
"It's good," he said once he finished, smiling at Yoo Joonghyuk. His alpha looked back at him, then returned the smile. It was hardly noticeable, but Kim Dokja liked to notice these little things about Yoo Joonghyuk.
"Do you like having breakfast in bed?" Yoo Joonghyuk asked him. He seemed almost unsure. That was cute.
"Yes," Kim Dokja confirmed. "I do."
"I'm glad," Yoo Joonghyuk said. "I wasn't sure if you would…" he paused, seeming unsure how to finish the sentence. Then he picked up the plate. "I'll put this back in the kitchen," he said. His expression was calm, but his scent made it clear to Kim Dokja that he felt some agitation.
"Did you eat yet?" Kim Dokja asked.
Yoo Joonghyuk shook his head.
"Eat, and then come back here," Kim Dokja said, taking command of the relationship like he usually did. He knew Yoo Joonghyuk would probably just do something like train Lee Jihye the ways of the sword if Kim Dokja didn't suggest these things. It wasn't like Kim Dokja was forcing him to do it, but Yoo Joonghyuk was very awkward about relationship things for some reason that Kim Dokja still did not understand. "We can stay in bed together for the rest of the morning."
Yoo Joonghyuk smiled a bit. "Alright."
It took a few more days of Yoo Joonghyuk attempting to actually do these relationship things when Kim Dokja finally asked him, "Why are you always so… awkward about it?"
"I was hoping you wouldn't notice," Yoo Joonghyuk said. The open response startled Kim Dokja for a moment. He wasn't as used to this side of Yoo Joonghyuk. During the scenarios, Yoo Joonghyuk had been more closed off, making Kim Dokja surprised that the man had actually considered him to be his companion.
"I did notice," Kim Dokja said. "That doesn't answer the question."
Yoo Joonghyuk seemed to think for a moment. Finally, he said, "The only true relationship I've ever been in was with Lee Seolhwa."
…huh. Kim Dokja thought he would have had a dating life before the scenarios began, especially because of how handsome he was.
"I had to spend most of my time taking care of my sister," Yoo Joonghyuk said. Ah, right, Yoo Mia. "The rest of my time was spent on my career. Relationships came secondary." He glared at Kim Dokja. "I'd say that you would understand, but you don't do a good job raising Biyoo. She pretty much had to raise herself, since you're almost always absent."
Kim Dokja raised his hands. "Yeah, I'm a bad father, I admit it," he said. "I already apologized to Biyoo. Can we go back to my question?"
"With you, I don't know if you'd like the same things that Seolhwa liked," Yoo Joonghyuk said. "I'm trying to do those things now, and you do like them, but you and her are very different people still."
"Ah," Kim Dokja murmured.
They stayed in silence for a while, before Kim Dokja finally reached up and got close to Yoo Joonghyuk's face. "It's okay Joonghyuk-ah," he breathed. "I'll show you what I like."
He pressed their lips together.
Yoo Joonghyuk seemed to get more confident with their relationship after that. Some of the old awkwardness still remained, but in the end…
Their relationship was going well.
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