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Anyone who knew Gen only a little would say that the omega was very self sufficient. He doesn't really ask for help with personal problems or passion projects. He is no stubborn fool either that would try to do an impossible task all by himself.
All the while he would listen to one of his Friends or teammates if troubled by doubt or stress and he would never tell another soul if it was serious. And despite all those things, many called him the most shallow man on the planet.
Maybe it was the downside of his mentalist skills or a general distrust from people that don't know him personally. After all, the two toned male always decided what he showed others of himself, how vulnerable he let himself be.
In the old world, Gen was a famous performer, his image constantly threatened by any slipup. It was not even known that he was an omega, that he could be anything but cunning and professionally distant with other's. He had been another puppet of the entertainment world, pumped full with suppressants and scent blockers.
But now, in the stone world, he could start over. Or at least choose who would see his true self. Senkuu and the kingdom of science showed him the comfort of true friends again after walking alone in the crowd for so long. It was warm and safe.
He had not felt like that in a long time.
And he would do anything to protect it.
Lying to the kingdom of might was scary but worth it. Seeing technology evolve after scaring Hyoga off and gaining the assistance of the whole village was thrilling. Earning his place on Senku's side as right hand man was unlike anything he ever felt.
The younger omega had his full trust, all he did was to help bring scientists one step further. He would never let anything happen to the star that was shining so bright in this dark age of science.
It was no secret that Gen and Senku had hit it off along the way. Their relationship grew strong with everything they were doing and their affection became more bold over time. It was mostly Gen's fault really. It was just so easy to tease the other omega with cute nicknames and quick pecks on the cheek whenever Senku was not expecting it.
It had its perks too, Gen realized. Sometimes Senku would let his mentalist sleep in a little bit if there was nothing too serious in the early morning. Whenever the older omega felt cold at night, the younger let him warm up under the covers together.
They had each other's backs.
So when the day of Gen's first preheat in the stoneworld came, he was only a little worried. At first. The weird feeling in his stomach was familiar but far away in his memory. The growing heat however was clear as day as he woke that chilly winter morning.
The omega could not decide if he should stay huddled up in his sleeping bag or if he just abandons the warmth all together for the cool chill in the room. His toes say stay with how cold they feel, but the rest of his body was screaming to yeth himself into the snow outside.
Gen grumbled displeased but stayed put where he was bundled up. About ready to fall back asleep, he groaned annoyed when he felt someone nudge him with their foot.
"Come on, Mentalist. Time to get up and working." Senku huffed before suppressing a yawn, again he bumped his foot against the older males hip. "We have a lot to do."
This should have been his que to tell the scientist that he won't be able to help the next few days. Should have. But he didn't.
Reluctantly, the two toned make got out of his warm cocoon, holding back a shudder when the cold air nipped at his exposed skin. Not that there was much. "I'm up, I'm up. . . Why don't you go ahead and start with Chrome-chan."
There was a moment of silence while the scientist studied the mentalist. His hair was still trussled and his eyes blurry with sleep. The shiver was understandable with how cool the hut was, but he seemed more sluggish than normal.
"You okay, Gen?" His tone was mildly worried. He could not clearly place what was off with the older male and it made him weary. But the omega just brushed him off while he prepared himself for the day and eventually annoyed him with his flirty tone while calling him 'senku-chan' teasingly.
Maybe he was just imagining things.
That was the start of some rather strange days if someone would ask Senku. Several water pouches had gone missing as well as some of the preserved food that the village stored for the winter days. It was not enough to be concerning but noticeable.
The last straw was drawn when several clothes and blankets went missing, right along with his armstraps one morning. Senku had looked everywhere in the sleeping part of Chrome's hut, where he had discarded them the night before, didn't he?
Gen had been up surprisingly early too, or at least the older male had not been there when he woke this morning. It smelled like the other omega was still here, even though he had been up and searching for his stuff for over an hour,with no trace of the mentalist.
Weird.
"Senku? Did you find what you were looking for?" The fellow scientist had called from outside and effectively ripped him out of his current thought. At this point Kohaku and Suika had joined Chrome to go to the broth stand together, they were only waiting for him.
"No." He called out of the window. Annoyed, the scientist waved his hand before calling "you guys can go ahead and go get breakfast, I will be there in a bit."
It was not uncommon for him to join them later on, but rarely skip one so his friends held little worry by the omega's words. Senku watched them for a moment as they were leaving before he went back to the question at hand.
Where the fuck were his armstraps?!
"I swear I put them next to my pillow last night…"he murmured while his red eyes gazed up to the observatory ladder. " Maybe I forgot them upstairs? …But I haven't been up there the past few days."
It was at least worth a shot, even if it was highly unlikely. So the scientist made his way to the ladder before climbing up and opening the wooden trapdoor. Not even a second later he had to do a double take when his nose was flooded with the overwhelming smell of wildflowers and honey. It was so sweet and underlying, beckoning.
The observatory floor was covered in fabrics, clothes and blankets, the open part of the roof was somewhat covered with a leather tarp to keep out the snow that might fall in and close to the telescope was a giant pile of pillows and blankets alike. Those were the missing items that had gone missing over the week, Sneku realized with mild relief and concern.
Finally deciding to enter the room, the scientist noticed his missing arm staps near the messy pile, right along several previous missing pouches for water and the food that had been stolen. It was clear that what he had stumbled in on was a nest, a giant one at that.
He only read about rare instances, of single omegas, that build this excessively, once and he couldn't believe that he would ever see something like this in person. But here he was, in the middle of a room sized nest with a smaller, actually usable, nest next to his favorite spot.
"What the hell happened here?!" The scientist exclaimed his disbelief with a frown. This was no work of a day or two, this must have taken all week to create.
His sudden loud voice must have startled the owner of this now den, as something in the main pile started to move. Eventually, hazy grey eyes peered out between the many layers of clothes.
The younger omega could have sworn that the flower scent only got sweeter once Gen's grey eyes stared up into his own red ones. A slight purr filled the quiet room while he nuzzled the pillow his head was resting on.
"Hello Senku-chan~~"
Asagiri Gen was in heat.
Senku doesn't understand. Why hasn't the mentalist said something, he definitely prepared for it the past few days and why the observatory? Given it was slightly warmer than he expected with the open roof and badly installed tarp, but still it was too cold to be comfortable. So why had Gen built his nest here?
"What are you doing, mentalist?" Senku asked, feigning ignorance to the very obvious answer. He was slow to approach, to make sure that he wouldn't spook Gen or overstep any boundaries.
The two toned male shuffled around before answering proudly "Nesting."
There was a pause.
"Is it a good nest?" He asked, sounding shy while his cheeks flushed a light red. Gen must have been pretty nervous with all the work he had put into it.
"It's pretty impressive." The scientist admitted while sparing another glance around the observatory. The purr grew louder when Senku's fingers gently brushed though messy black and white hair. "You did all that by yourself? Picking the room? Getting all of the materials for your pretty nest?"
"Mhmm~ it was pretty hard with Chrome-chan being so nosy. You guys are heavy sleepers." The older male pouted while he thought back to all the times when he had to keep the young beta away from his chosen den.
"Why not ask for a little help? Me and the others surely would have liked to bring you some things. There was no need to stea–"
"It's only borrowed, I swear." Gen whined while he watched Senku with big eyes, a sudden fear revealing itself. The mentalist's scent took on a sour note of distress, invading the scientist's nose and lungs like acid. He had to keep himself from gagging.
"Borrow, right. No reason to get worked up, love." The leek haired male whispered, using the pet name he would use at times for his dear mentalist. The air soon changed back to its sweet wildflower scent and the tension left the older males body.
" Just relax… that's it." Senku praised him, a small smile adoring his lips while he watched Gen ease in his nest, but it was strained. Was that why he had not told anyone? Was he scared the village would accuse him of stealing?
"Gen. . . Why didn't you tell me that you were expecting your heat?"
The older male watched him quietly, he looked a little guilty while he fiddled with one of the pillows. It seemed like he was in an inner turmoil. He never could read his mentalist so easily as that day.
"I. . . I wasn't sure if it wouldn't be too troublesome. We still have a lot of work to do and you have so many plans for the next few days. . . It's not like I am not used to it." Gen confessed while looking incredibly small, vulnerable even. His own insides turned in unease as he heard the last part.
'It's not like I am not used to it.'
"You're an idiot."
"Excuse me?!" Gen looked at him scandalous, his jaw slightly slack and eyebrows furrowed.
"We are partners, aren't we? Do you really think I wouldn't care if you need time to go through something like a heat?"
Do you really think I would leave you to suffer alone?
"..." Senku watched Gen closely while he waited for his reply, the way the older hid slowly in his nest. The blush in his cheeks grew more red with embarrassment and licking his dried lips nervously.
"No, I just thought— It would be more practical for the kingdom of science. . ." The two toned male began to mumble. Clearly this was the ideology of the old world. People may have respected Omega's and Alpha's in the eyes of the public, but the show world had been different. They couldn't afford breaks or incidents as reporter and manager labeled it.
Senku let out an exhausted sigh before he got up and nudged Gen's hip gently. " Come on, scoot over."
"Why?" The older omega looked genuinely confused.
"Well I am not playing on leaving anytime soon. Might as well get comfortable." The younger grinned before flopping into the cozy nest. His arms snake around Gen's middle before pulling him and another blanket closer to cover the two of them. He was warm, but not yet burning, so there was still some time before it would really hit.
"You know that the nesting omega normally has to give permission before someone enters their nest." Gen huffed annoyed, but didn't fight Senku's warm embrace nor the kiss planted on his damp forehead.
"It's not like you want me to leave either." the scientist mocked teasingly. A bright grin showed his white teeth, causing the mentalist to swallow the lump forming in his throat.
"No. Please stay Senku-chan." Gen whispered before tenderly nosing against Senku's neck, right above his scent gland. He could feel the younger omega shiver and his scent spiking.
"Not planning to, mentalist. Not one millimeter.~" Senku chuckled, returning the affectionate and intimate gesture. They could use the time they still had to relax and just talk about anything that came to mind.