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It wasn't as if Hanzo tried to keep his omega status a big secret—It just slipped from his mind.
His appearance and stance proved to fool anyone to quickly think he is an alpha. It was a little stereotypical, in his opinion, but he paid no mind because it provided him more favors. On top of that, his scent isn't the usually sweet scent of most omegas—firewood and cherry blossoms, with a hint of honey to it's edge that shows when he is vulnerable.
No, he didn't try to keep it an active secret, rather an open one. What he did do is completely forget to tell the cryomancer sitting across from him about it. He did not even realize his sweeter scent—of heat —had seeped out.
"Is something wrong, Kuai Liang?" he asked, raising a brow. "You have not touched your tea nor spoken in a while."
Kuai Liang finally blinked out of the gaze he was dragged into. Shaking his head, he turns his eyes away from the man before him. “It is nothing, Hanzo,” he says, “it just seems that I… had a lot on my mind.”
Yet Kuai Liang could not get the smell out of his nose. The pheromones underneath it just work further to agitate his instincts, demanding care for the pyromancer. But it should not be possible—neither of them are an omega.
At least… at least that’s what he had thought.
Hanzo stared at him for a little while longer before nodding. Odd, yet he decided to ignore it for now. The once warm atmosphere turned slightly tense as time went on, their voices conversing in the low light of the moon.
It got to a point where Kuai Liang had started to fidget, restless. His alpha wants to reach out to Hanzo, to hold and care for him like he was an omega—but he resisted. Hanzo is not an omega. He isn’t. Probably.
“Oh.” Hanzo’s voice broke out the tension, sudden realization dawning on him, eyes widening for just a fraction. “I… apologize. I did not realize that you didn’t know.”
“What is it?” Kuai Liang breathed out against the sweetness that’s further emanating his senses. “Is something wrong?”
“No, not… not wrong. ” he cringed internally at his own words, brows furrowing. “It just seems I am entering my heat.”
The word repeats in Kuai Liang’s mind: my heat. There was no other explanation, and before he could stop his own mouth from opening, he blurted out, “Your heat? You are an omega? ”
Hanzo didn’t seem to take it as an insult, yet he sighed. “Yes. I had thought you knew—I do not try to keep it that much of a secret.” he grumbles something under his breath, something Kuai Liang can’t hear. “I apologize. I didn't mean to…”
“No, I should be apologizing.” Kuai Liang set his tea down, already empty at this point. He shifted, moving to get up, Hanzo’s eyes on him. “I should leave. I do not want to—”
“Stay.”
The words made Kuai Liang freeze, eyes staring into Hanzo’s own surprised one. But then Hanzo shook his head, a small tint of red on his face that caused Kuai Liang’s own to jump in his chest. “I… I mean- I do not mind you staying. I do not wish to stop our meeting just yet, unless you have other pressing matters to attend to.”
Kuai Liang’s answer came without hesitation. “No, no,” he sits back down quickly, just a little closer to the omega before him. “I am free of work for the rest of the night. We can continue.”
The relief on Hanzo’s form was visible. Kuai Liang resisted the urge to brush his hand against Hanzo’s own, wondering if it had started to heat up and how it would feel against his own. He knew Hanzo’s temperature would probably be higher than average, as is his own colder than others, but it was… warm. And inviting.
“Are you alright?” Kuai Liang asked softly across from him, eyes drifting to the space on Hanzo’s neck before meeting his eyes again.
“I’m fine,” Hanzo mutters. “I am just…”
“Your heat is affecting you,” Kuai Liang points out. “Do you need anything?”
His senses were telling him one thing, begging him to care for the omega before him. The urge to care for Hanzo, to be there for him during this heat—in whichever way the omega would allow him was nearly tearing at the seams.
Hanzo blinked at the words, and Kuai Liang felt his face heat up. Elder Gods—neither of them were bumbling teenagers who just presented anymore, ignoring the fact Kuai Liang had always suppressed his own instincts since he was young due to the Lin Kuei’s harsh rules. But his mind is slowly being overtaken by instincts he’s not used to; his fingers itch to touch, to hold, to care and he did not know if he should give in or not.
“I’m alright,” Hanzo assures with a small curve of his mouth, “shall we continue?”
Kuai Liang finds himself nodding. There was no time for instincts right now; there are more important matters they need to discuss. Like their clans, the people, and the safety.
Time passes—whatever leftover tea in their cups has turned lukewarm by now. Hanzo’s focus has slowly dwindled due to his rising heat, and even Kuai Liang could notice as the grandmaster slowly spaced out. His fists clenched on his own thighs, gulping the words down his throat.
“Hanzo,” he spoke slowly, “are you—”
Hanzo’s head goes up slowly and Kuai Liang’s breath is taken away at his face. He wants to reach out, wants to caress his flushed cheeks. It is only an entire lifetime of training that he doesn't move an inch.
Before he could continue his words, Hanzo had already cut him off. Just a small sound, probably a grumble, as if he’s not quite there. But then Hanzo lets out another rumble that has Kuai Liang’s eyes widened slightly, almost as if the other is asking for him to come closer.
He should probably decline; Hanzo is heat-ridden and not in his right mind. But before he could even say any other words the grandmaster rumbled again, firmer this time, before suddenly pulling him closer.
Kuai Liang froze up, tense as a board when the pyromancer placed himself on his lap, effectively trapping him in place. He didn’t even do anything, couldn’t even breathe when he placed his head on his neck and heard him purr.
He knows it’s just an omega thing—how they act in heat. They seek comfort, even sometimes going slightly aggressive with it. He just never expected to be on the receiving end.
“...Hanzo?” he croaks out finally, slowly starting to relax himself. The other’s scent was nice. His body pressed against his own, his warmth… he shook his thoughts rather quickly before it could get any further.
“Stay,” the pyromancer spoke on his shoulder, arms tightening around him as if Kuai Liang was going to go anywhere, “don’t move.”
Kuai Liang can follow orders.
He doesn’t move, just stays still as the omega’s purrs ring through his ears. At one point he finds himself laying down in a futon—Hanzo still in his arms and fast asleep, their scents intertwined. He should probably get up and leave, then leave a message for the guards for Hanzo to not have any visitors for the time being. But maybe he’s just a tiny bit tired.
And Hanzo’s arms are really, really nice. Also, he’s pretty sure the omega will chain him down if he even makes a move to get up.
So really, it isn’t his fault his eyes close too. It isn’t his fault when he misses a call and two from Frost who was threatening to come over herself and pick him up. It isn’t his fault when by morning, Takeda and Frost finds their grandmasters cuddled together in a messy bed, snoring lightly as the sun shone on their bodies through the cracks in the windows before they close the door and grumble something about fucking finally.