Chapter Text
Shinichi was a perfectly normal alpha, thank you very much.
Like any other alpha, he absolutely loved mating season. Ask any alpha, especially mated ones, and they would all agree that the mating season was the best time of the year, for obvious reasons. Especially when it was his mate’s, the love of his life, the other half of his soul, who had his heat cycle.
Heat was practically a guaranteed time for some extremely satisfying sex marathon, with the added bonus of hormones and pheromones running rampant, lulling an alpha’s brain into a state of contented mating bliss. Not to mention that for couples who was trying for pups, this time was a blessing all on its own.
Before omegas went into full-blown heat, however, they went into a state of pre-heat, which generally lasted two weeks until one month before their hormones peaked.
He didn’t know where he got the expectation that an omega in pre-heat would be all cute and cuddly. Probably from all the rom-com Korean dramas he would never admit he binged. They always depicted an alpha-omega mating cycle as thus; the omega had his/her pre-heat, where they build a pillow fort and stole their alpha’s clothing, wore it around the house, presenting an utterly cute and irresistible picture as they fluffed pillows and baked cookies and eat a lot of food. Then the moment would strike where the alpha sniffed the air, locked eyes with the omega in an intense stare as the soundtrack played, and usually the moment turned painting-like as the episode ended, complete with a preview for the next episode where the heat had ended. Because you would never find a heat scene in mainstream TV with PG-13 ratings – you have to go to other sources for that, as any teenager would attest.
Perhaps Kaito was simply not a typical omega. Shinichi wouldn’t know, as Ran was a beta, and they never went past the first base. The other omegas in the world could went through the mating cycle with all the cute moments like in his beloved dramas. God knows his omega was one of a kind, and Shinichi wouldn’t have it any other way.
Granted, Kaito did fluff pillows and steal Shinichi’s clothes… and his keys, his toast, his morning coffee, his phone, his gun that one time… old habits die hard. He cooked and baked and binged on sweets and chocolate. But he did those things all the time, not when he was in pre-heat, because Kaito simply loved burying into an extra-fluffy pillows, and he knew that seeing Kaito in Shinichi’s old university t-shirt or his football jersey got the alpha going like nothing else.
No, when his omega was in pre-heat, Kaito was… in a word… obsessive-compulsive.
Sure, he nested. He piled blankets on their bed, stocked up on lube, clean sheets, wet wipes, and towels, making sure they were in easy reach. He cleaned the house and bought groceries. He upped his routine stealing and laid siege on Shinichi’s closet and laundry hamper, making sure they completely smelled like each other for days before his actual heat hit.
And Shinichi adored it.
After all, Shinichi totally got the warm, fuzzy feeling of contentedness and primal satisfaction in watching one’s mate nesting. It soothed the basest part of his instincts, knowing that his mate, smelling like ambrosia, was preparing their den for the soon-to-be-made pups (regardless of how far human civilization had evolved from the time they lived half feral in the wild. Not to mention they lived in a suburban house, not a cave in the middle of a forest. And disregarding the fact that Kaito had an intrauterine device implanted, the wonders of modern medicine).
So yes, like any other alpha, Shinichi loved the mating season.
But he didn’t love it at four in the morning, when Kaito jostled him awake with a “Shinichi, I have to clean the bed! Move!”
Shinichi whined in protest. It was the third time this week, probably the seventeenth time Kaito had cleaned the whole house in an increasingly frequent bouts of manic energy, as his own omega instincts demanded that his nest should be as perfect as possible for his heat.
Kaito nudged at his shoulder again. “Shinichiiiiiiii,” he whined.
The alpha did his best to imitate a burrito, grabbing onto the covers and rolled himself up inside it. He would not move, nope sir, no thank you.
“Come on! Oh my god I can’t believe this! Shinichi, I have to clean!”
“Nghhhhhhh”
“Shinichi.”
In that moment, Shinichi seriously regretted Kaito’s lifelong friendship with Aoko. Kaito, in his own right, already had a wide range of weapons-handling abilities, such as dart (or knife) throwing, gun-shooting, and detonating explosives. But being around Aoko his whole life had added one more – completely unnecessary, in Shinichi’s opinion – harm-inflicting skill, which is, shudder, mop-wielding.
And behind his closed lids he could just see, the particular look on Kaito’s face that came with the tone, as he raised a feather duster over his head in an Aoko-style threatening manner, ready to tickle Shinichi into compliance if he didn’t do what he was told. Because at the end of the day, Kaito wouldn’t hurt a fly. But he totally would persistently, stubbornly do whatever it takes in order to get Shinichi to do as he wanted.
With a defeated groan, the alpha had to force his eyes open. He squinted blearily at his mate, taking in his messy hair, over-bright eyes, and the determined expression.
“I’m up, I’m up,” he promised, getting out of the bed to crash into the chair by his desk.
So Kaito happily puttered around, beating the bed, vacuuming the bedsheet, the comforter, the blankets twice each, at four in the morning.
Shinichi really wasn’t loving mating season. He did his best to curl up on the uncomfortable chair, trying to go back to sleep.
“Shinichi, move!”
Shinichi sighed. The things he did for love.