Night Sky Bloom

5- Chamomile

After a few more waves of his first rut hitting, and his hand feeling more raw than he was used to, Jisung washed up again and headed downstairs. He had no idea how long these moments of clarity- sanity- would last, but he needed to make Felix's presentation basket.

Jisung carefully arranged the items in the basket, selecting each one with Felix's needs in mind. The glass bottles of lavender and chamomile tinctures would help soothe Felix's nerves before his big presentation. Next to it, a jar of magnesium powder to mix into water or tea to ease muscle tension. Some ginger candies for nausea, along with peppermint tea and electrolyte packets to stay hydrated. Jisung smiled as he added the lemon balm salve- perfect for pain and tension headaches from stress.

As Jisung organized the remedies, his thoughts drifted to Minho. He caught a whiff of spearmint from across the room and his heart quickened. He imagined what it would be like to bury his face in the crook of Minho's neck and breathe in the sweet, minty scent. How he wished he could taste it on his tongue...

A wave of heat rushed through Jisung's body, heralding the return of his rut. He shook his head, trying to clear away the fantasies, and hurriedly grabbed a bottle of clary sage essential oil instead. He needed to stay focused on helping Felix right now.

Jisung inspected the basket one last time, assuring it contained everything Felix might need. The wooden basket creaked under his tightening grip as he hurried from the greenhouse, flowers nodding in his wake. Lilies and gardenias, hydrangeas and lavender bowed gently as he passed, brushing their silken petals against his arms in a silent wish of encouragement. Their sweet perfume could not compete with the one haunting his thoughts.

He moved to place it outside his front door in the allotted pickup box. It kept creatures out, and no one really stole anything in the village, so it was the perfect solution. As he felt heat once again prickling his skin, he made sure to quickly jot down a note and tape it to the outside of the front door. "Felix basket- pickup box."

And back upstairs he went.

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He was shaking, groaning under the feeling of his fingers wrapped around the base of the knot he was slowly getting accustomed to, when loud knocks rang yet again down the stairs. His hands paused momentarily, trying to take enough deep breaths to ground him, before he quickly put loose pants on that would hopefully cover his seemingly never-ending erection, and washed his hands.

How was he supposed to answer a fucking door in this condition... again?

As he started downstairs, a dizzy feeling set in again, clouding his vision with a haze so heavy, his eyelids didn't seem to want to stay open.

Then the distinct scent of spearmint wafted through the door, as if it were heading directly for him and wrapping him in it. He felt like the people in cartoons who had a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other when his thoughts began swirling, spiraling. He was being pulled in two different directions- one screaming "take, take, take," and the other calmly telling him to hold back. Push through. He was stronger than his instincts. Stronger than his subgender designation. Stronger than he thought he was.

He licked his lips and steadied himself before walking over and opening the door. Minho stood in front of his door, holding the basket with one hand, the other hand on his hip, the new moon's outline in clear view behind him. "I told you not to knock again."

Minho stared up at him with quickly widening eyes that traveled lower before locking his gaze onto Jisung's. Jisung looked down momentarily to realize he'd forgotten to put on a shirt before sighing and reconnecting their eye contact. Minho's grip tightened on the basket, swallowing visibly while keeping the same irritable face that he typically wore.