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Yuuri shifted in the hard seat of the desk, one of many in his Modern Russian Literature class. The desks were uncomfortable, sure, meant to be used for an hour or two at a time, but they didn’t usually bother him this much. He felt flushed, knew his cheeks were pink, and could feel the lightest sheen of sweat forming on his brow. He’d stopped paying attention to the professor a while ago, his classmates carrying the discussion around him. Yuuri tugged at his collar in an attempt to let cool air waft down the front of his t-shirt, still squirming in his seat. He was just so hot, despite the mild temperature.
He shook his head in an attempt to clear it but it didn’t help. He hoped he wasn’t coming down with a bug. He’d been spending all his free time with Viktor for months now and would hate to get the other man sick. If either of them fell ill, it would certainly put a damper on their preparations for Yuuri’s heat next week— Oh. Oh. The flush, the fidgeting, the abrasive feeling of his clothes on his skin…his heat was coming earlier than he’d calculated. Ugh. His nest wasn’t even close to complete yet. He glanced at the clock: ten minutes to go. Ten more minutes, then he’d head to Viktor’s office to let him know. Hopefully, Viktor would be able to leave with him and they could head to his apartment to build the nest.
Yuuri was nervous; not about spending his heat with Viktor per se, but he’d never spent a heat with an alpha before. He and Phichit had messed around, had helped each other through their heats one omega to another with hands and toys, but he’d never been with anyone else before Viktor. Plus, Viktor had never been with an omega in heat. Yuuri’s hormones and worry were feeding his anxiety in a vicious cycle, but Viktor had been able to calm his nerves for the most part. Unfortunately, when Viktor and his soothing scent weren’t around, he felt himself getting keyed up again at the thought of his upcoming heat. And now it was almost here, before he was ready.
While Yuuri was ruminating, class had ended and the professor was dismissing them. He scooped his laptop and books into his backpack and headed for the door without a word to anyone. Thankfully, Viktor’s office was just a short walk across the quad. He hoped his scent blockers were holding and he wasn’t broadcasting his pre-heat to everyone on campus. Once he got to Viktor’s building, he ran up the steps to the third floor, too impatient to wait for the ancient elevator, and walked briskly down the hall to his office.
“Yuuri!” Viktor’s heart-shaped smile lit up his face as he stood in greeting. Yuuri couldn’t help but smile in return, but it was a tight, nervous thing, and Viktor clearly noticed his tension. “Is everything ok, solnyshko? We weren’t supposed to meet until after my office hours are over.”
Yuuri blew out a breath. He didn’t want to worry Viktor. “Everything’s fine. It’s not a big deal, but I think my heat is coming early. Like, today or tomorrow early.”
Though they were generally circumspect about their relationship on campus, Viktor came around his desk and pulled Yuuri into a hug. “Yuuri,” Viktor murmured in his hair, subtly scenting him. “I think that is a big deal. We haven’t even built your nest yet.”
“I know,” Yuuri sighed, his nerves starting to settle with the hint of Viktor’s crisp mint he could smell this close. “I was hoping you could leave a little early and we can head to your apartment to work on it?” he asked, pulling away to look up a little pleadingly at his boyfriend.
“Ah, I wish I could, Yuuri, but I have touch base meetings with my students to settle on their final project topics.” Yuuri made a pouty face and Viktor hastened to add, “But if you really need me, I can cancel? I was expecting to possibly be out next week, after all. I can probably move the meetings.”
“No, that’s ok. I don’t want you to rearrange your schedule. I’ll just head home and wait ‘til you’re done.” His anxiety skittered in the back of his mind at the thought, his hormones urging him to nest, to be surrounded by softness and his mate’s scent in preparation for his heat. He tamped those urges down. He wasn’t quite sure what he’d do at home besides mope about uncomfortably, but surely he could manage for the next few hours.
“Or you can head to my place and get a head start on the nest. How does that sound?” Viktor reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys, working two off the ring.
Yuuri hadn’t really been at Viktor’s by himself before. “Are you sure?” he asked, even as Viktor handed him the keys.
“I’m sure, solnyshko. Make yourself comfortable and I’ll be home as soon as I can.” Viktor dropped a kiss to Yuuri’s hair, then his forehead, and finally, his lips, as someone politely cleared their throat from the hall.
Yuuri felt his slight flush turn into a blazing inferno and hurriedly pushed away from Viktor. “I’ll just see you at home then!” he squeaked, brushing past a girl he didn’t recognize in the doorway as he left.
His ears burned even hotter as he heard a feminine voice float after him, saying, “Aww, Professor Nikiforov, is that your omega? He’s so cute!” followed by Viktor’s delighted laugh. He hurried away before he could hear any more.
Yuuri stopped at home to swap his books for clothes, thankfully avoiding Phichit, who would surely want a play-by-play of his new plans. The bus ride was short and he was a regular enough face at Viktor’s apartment building by now that the concierge greeted him by name. Once he reached the elevator, he turned the key for the penthouse as he’d seen Viktor do countless times and was facing Viktor’s front door before he knew it. He heard Makkachin’s excited whuffling as he put the key in the lock, barely avoiding her bowling him over.
He knelt down to pet her after he closed the door. “Hello, pretty girl. Yes, yes, I know. It’s so exciting. I’m early and I’m not with your dad.” Makka should have been walked just an hour or so ago at lunch, so he didn’t bother asking if she had to potty or taking her out. After the initial happy wriggling, she padded after him to Viktor’s bedroom, where Yuuri had already started amassing a collection of soft, sweetly scented things for the nest. He plopped his bag down in the corner and went to work while Makka settled down on the rug at the foot of the bed for her afternoon nap.
He stripped Viktor’s bed down to the mattress protector, wanting to start with a clean slate. Then he piled pillows along the headboard and down the sides of the bed, creating a rounded shape. Next, he started weaving and tucking blankets, adding more pillows as he went. Several sheets were layered over the bottom of the nest, fluffy towels sandwiched between to make it even softer and to allow for quick cleanup between heat waves. Once he was happy with the structure, Yuuri looked around for a few key items to finish the nest.
First came the fluffy throw from the sofa that they cuddled under the first night they spent together, when Yuuri was just an escort and Viktor a random client, and had used so often since, it was saturated in both their scents. Next came Yuuri’s favorite sweater of Viktor’s, an aqua cashmere that matched his eyes and had been worn last weekend around the house without any scent blockers to mask Viktor’s crisp mint. A few more soft t-shirts that smelled like Viktor were added, then Yuuri pulled some of his own vanilla scented clothes from his bag to weave into the nest, completing it with the sleek blue scarf Viktor had given him for his birthday.
Yuuri stepped back to admire his handiwork, pleased with the nest. It looked soft but sturdy, able to provide the comfort and security he needed for his heat while withstanding the assault it would take during the rather vigorous activities it would be subjected to. His nesting instincts were finally sated and his anxiety settled to its usual low hum in the background of his mind. He was so pleased, in fact, he decided to take a photo to send to Viktor. Not that he thought Viktor would linger at work, but the reminder of Yuuri waiting for him might make him hurry home just a little faster.
But he came up empty when he reached in his pocket for his phone. He looked around, checking his bag, the nightstands, the dresser, the bed, but his phone was nowhere to be found. He traced his steps back to the front door with no luck. Oh no. He had to have dropped it somewhere in the nest, among the many layers. He really didn’t want to tear the nest apart. Even ignoring all the hard work he’d put into it, he was starting to feel even hotter and his clothes were starting to itch: he needed to strip and settle into its softness. But he had to find his phone first. He still had to text Phichit and e-mail his professors to let them know he’d be out for a few days.
Yuuri fought against his instincts as he started carefully dismantling the nest. Tears pricked behind his eyes and distressed whines sounded unconsciously from the back of his throat as he grew more anxious with each layer he removed. His shirt and pants felt like sandpaper on his skin, and he ripped them off, adding to the increasing mess, his nice, neat piles having grown more chaotic as he continued to tear apart the nest. His hormone-addled brain was screaming at him to stop, telling him he wouldn’t be safe, he wouldn’t keep his mate happy, and the tears overflowed at the thought of disappointing Viktor—which, of course, meant Viktor walked into the mess of the bedroom at that moment, just in time to see a crying Yuuri collapse into the remains of the nest, Makkachin whining in sympathy from her spot on the rug.
“Yuuri, what’s wrong? What happened to your nest?” Viktor asked as he swept Yuuri into his arms.
The fabric of Viktor’s coat felt awful against Yuuri’s flushed skin and he pushed him away. The tears turned into sobs when he saw the resulting hurt and confusion on his boyfriend’s face. He couldn’t answer, just shook his head as he pathetically tried to peel Viktor’s wool coat off his shoulders. Thankfully, Viktor seemed to get the hint and took off his coat, then shed the rest of his clothes. Yuuri dove into his arms as soon as he was finished, pressing himself into as much skin contact as he could, shoving his nose into the scent gland at Viktor’s neck and whimpering.
“Shh, solnyshko,” Viktor murmured, gliding his hands down his back and sides in long, soothing strokes. “It’s ok. Tell me what’s wrong and how I can fix it.”
Yuuri got a big whiff of Viktor’s scent through the blockers, calming even with the underlying tinge of worry; he must have released more as Yuuri snuggled into his neck. His sobs subsided. Having his alpha close always worked wonders and Yuuri soon felt his tangled thoughts smooth enough to think clearly. He sniffled as his tears slowed, taking a few deep breaths, filling his lungs with Viktor’s crisp mint and alpha pheromones. He pulled away from Viktor’s neck and his voice was rough when he finally spoke. “I’m sorry I fell apart on you—” he started, but Viktor was quick to interject.
“No need to be sorry, solnyshko. Just tell me what happened.”
Yuuri sighed, looking up at Viktor with red-rimmed eyes. “I got the nest built, perfectly even, but couldn’t find my phone so I had to tear it apart. But I still can’t find it. My nesting instincts were screaming and my anxiety was screaming and it was just too much. You’ve never spent a heat with an omega and I just— I wanted it to be perfect for you.”
“Yuuri, it would perfect if there was no nest, because it’s you,” Viktor said, squeezing him tight and dropping a kiss to his hair. “But I know you’ll feel better if we have one. Let me call your phone so we can find it, then we’ll rebuild it together, da?”
Yuuri nodded his assent and Viktor reached down to pull his own phone out of his discarded pants’ pocket. Yuuri turned back to the bed and listened, hearing a muffled ringing. He sighed and started digging through the layers of what was left of his nest to no avail. Makka’s tail beat in a steady staccato, happy now that her humans were calm again, and she shifted as Viktor finally bent down to greet her. All of a sudden, the ringing grew louder.
“Makka!” Viktor exclaimed, scooching the poodle’s butt over as he grabbed Yuuri’s chirping phone. “You had his phone this whole time?”
Makkachin just panted up at her dad in a doggy smile as he gave her an exaggerated look of disappointment.
Yuuri buried his head in his hands and groaned. He had been so worked up and didn’t even think to look under the sleepy poodle. He couldn’t help but laugh at Viktor’s mock scolding, now that he was out of the anxious spiral of thoughts that had been clawing at him. He took the few steps to Viktor and Makkachin, kneeling down to pet her. “It’s ok, Makka. I know you didn’t mean it.”
She licked his face in apology and Viktor drew him back up into his arms. “Now, solnyshko, let’s get this nest back together.”
Yuuri accepted Viktor’s help gratefully, and they had the nest built before they knew it. Makka’s dog sitter came to pick her up shortly after they finished, Viktor donning a robe to send her off while Yuuri floated in the large bath, the lukewarm water soothing the prickling heat under his skin. When he was as relaxed as he could be this close to his heat, Viktor coaxed Yuuri into eating a light vegetable soup before drawing him to the nest.
“There we go,” Viktor said as he settled Yuuri in and curled around him. “You need to rest as much as you can before it starts. How long do you think we have?”
“Hmm, probably ‘til early morning,” Yuuri replied drowsily. He cuddled closer, a yawn stretching his jaw wide as Viktor pulled a sheet over them. Viktor’s hands started their slow stroking of his sides again and Yuuri felt his happy hum turn into a purr, echoed by Viktor’s rumbling growl. His alpha’s skin and scent and the soft security of their nest were working their magic, and Yuuri felt himself drifting off, thinking happily that this heat might just be perfect after all.