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“Hikaru?”
Yoshiki steps into his room. The first thing he notices is that it's somehow even messier than usual. Besides the usual clutter and scattered clothes on the floor, there’s what seems to be an amalgamated pile of laundry and blankets on the bed. Moments after taking in the state of the room, his nose is attacked with the overwhelming scent of rotting fruit.
When ‘Hikaru’ returned from the mountains, he had a distinctly different scent from the one Yoshiki had known his entire life - or rather, lack of one. The subtle smell of incense Yoshiki had grown to associate with comfort had been replaced by the faintest hint of cold, wet mountain air. This new scent, although unpleasant and unfamiliar, is something that he can instinctively recognise as ‘Hikaru’. Immediately, his own scent sours in response. Something is wrong.
“Are ya okay?” He can’t help the worry that seeps into his voice.
The pile of clothes emits a distressed sound. That’s all it takes for him to stride across the room and towards the bed. He can barely make out a lumpy form from under the blankets. He tugs at them, revealing ‘Hikaru’ tightly curled up in a ball. Gray, watery eyes peer up at him from between his arms.
“Yoshiki,” he whines, “Hurts…”
“What hurts? Did something happen?”
Yoshiki sits on the edge of the bed, placing the back of his hand against ‘Hikaru’s forehead. His skin is sweaty and hot to the touch. ’Hikaru’ leans into his hand, and his scent sweetens just slightly. He frowns, ruffling the shorter boy’s hair, trying to piece together what is happening.
“Smell so good,” he slurs.
Yoshiki looks over the heap of clothes, vaguely resembling a nest, ‘Hikaru’s suddenly strongly developed scent, his (more than usual) clinginess, and stills. ‘Hikaru’ whines again, butting his head against his hand.
“More…”
It shouldn’t be possible. But it has to be, there’s no other explanation.
“Hikaru, yer in heat.”
“Huh? S’not possible, I-” he pauses, blinking blearily. “Oh. I halved myself.”
The small, oddly shaped rock weighs heavily in Yoshiki’s pocket. ‘Hikaru’ said that he was small enough to be killed by a human now. He’d become weaker. More human. Human enough to present.
“Yer body must be trying to play catch up.”
‘Hikaru’ curls up with a groan, clutching his stomach.
“Am I dying?”
“No, but yer hormones are probably in overdrive right now, presenting suddenly an’ all that.”
He makes another sad noise. Yoshiki looks down at him, brows furrowing. He remembers how scary his first heat was. It must be ten times worse for ‘Hikaru’ right now. Presenting occurs over the course of a few years, the body slowly adapting to new changes. But ‘Hikaru’ hasn’t even been human for a full year. His body is probably trying to go through the process all at once. There’s no way Yoshiki can let him go through his first heat alone like this. He can barely even make a proper nest.
“Here,” Yoshiki says, nudging him, “Let’s do something about this nest.”
‘Hikaru’ peeks up at him, sniffling. “Is it bad?”
“No, ya did a great job. It just needs a little… rearranging. Is it okay if I get in it?”
‘Hikaru’ nods. He tries really hard not to think about the implications of the other boy being okay with him touching his nest. Yoshiki gets grumpy even letting his family near his nest when he’s in heat, so for ‘Hikaru’ to be okay with it…
“It should be kind of like a big bowl, so you’re surrounded on all sides,” Yoshiki explains, scooping up clothes from the center of the heap and piling them around the edges.
The other boy helps, albeit weakly, by adding clothes and sometimes going behind Yoshiki to change things around where he sees fit. As the nest takes on a proper shape, sour lemon turns sweet and citrusy. Inadvertently, he finds himself inhaling deeply. ‘Hikaru’s scent is much stronger than his own, even for being in heat, but he smells so good.
“Make sure ya leave some blankets on the bottom, it helps keep the warmth in.”
‘Hikaru’ listens diligently, and a few minutes later the nest is finished. He gazes at it proudly, and Yoshiki can’t help but feel the same. It smells not just like ‘Hikaru’, but faintly like something else too. Like himself. Like their scents mixed together.
The satisfaction is short-lived, however, when the shorter boy slumps with exhaustion moments later. Yoshiki grabs a spare pillow, offering it to him. He clutches it to his stomach with a whimper.
“I’ll go get ya some medicine,” Yoshiki says. He hopes his reluctance to leave doesn’t show. ‘Hikaru’s nest admittedly looks very warm and inviting. All he wants to do is stick his nose in his scent glands and soothe his pain away. Just as he’s about to get up, a hand shoots out and grabs onto his hand.
“Please don’t go.”
Pleading eyes look into his own. Yoshiki pauses, staring at their joined hands. Logically, he knows that pain medicine and a hot water bottle are what ‘Hikaru’ needs the most right now, but all of his instincts are urging him to stay by his side and take care of him. Just as he is about to give in and crawl into the nest with him, ‘Hikaru’ cries out in pain. The grip on his hand tightens uncomfortably.
“H-hurts,” he cries.
"I know.” Yoshiki tries to keep his voice as level as possible. Seeing ‘Hikaru’ in pain is unbearable for his inner omega. He wants to take it all away, but he feels so helpless. “Lay back down. Just rest for now, and I’ll handle everything.”
‘Hikaru’ sluggishly lays down, curling up with his back pressed against the wall of the nest. Yoshiki drapes a blanket over him, tucking it up to his chin. He brushes his sweaty bangs off his forehead. He makes a soft noise, nuzzling against his hand. It won’t be easy to leave. The black-haired boy looks around, spotting one of ‘Hikaru’s shirts in the nest and grabbing it. Quickly, he takes his shirt off and pulls ‘Hikaru’s on.
“Medicine will help ya a lot better than I can,” he says, balling his shirt up and nestling it next to ‘Hikaru’s nose. “I’ll be just a second, I promise.”
‘Hikaru’ lets out a pitiful noise as he leaves. Yoshiki feels antsy, walking as fast as he can to the bathroom. Heating up a water bottle will take too long, he decides, and just grabs the entire bottle of medicine before rushing to the kitchen for a glass of water. By the time he gets back, the other boy has broken out of his blanket cocoon to bury his face into Yoshiki’s shirt. He gets back into the nest as carefully as possible. Before he can even get settled in, ‘Hikaru’ is clambering over him, grabbing his wrist and rubbing his cheek against it.
“You left.”
“I’m sorry. I won’t leave again,” Yoshiki says, releasing as many calming pheromones as possible. His skin tingles where their scents mingle. He lets him scent him a little while longer, until his antsiness disappears, and then gently pries his hand free. “C’mon, have some water and some medicine and then we can get settled in properly.”
Yoshiki hands him a few pills and a glass of water. He takes several long gulps before swallowing the pills. When he gives the cup back, it's completely empty.
“Don’t go anywhere,” he grumbles, sticking his face in the crook of his neck.
Yoshiki’s arms hover awkwardly in the air, unsure where to put his hands. But then ‘Hikaru’ trembles with another cramp, and he finally gives in. Yoshiki rests one hand in his hair, the other on his back, and pulls him in closer. ‘Hikaru’ sighs contently, practically melting into him.
“I feel better with you. Yer so warm.”
Yoshiki runs his fingers through his short, fluffy locks. He’s always preferred to spend his heats alone, hating how they make him feel weak and grumpy. But he imagines it could be nice to spend it together with ‘Hikaru’ like this. He’s warm, and heavy, but not unpleasantly so. Like a weighted heated blanket.
‘Hikaru’ shifts on top of him, nosing at his scent gland. He inhales deeply, breath tickling Yoshiki’s skin.
“Mm, n’you smell so good…”
“You do too,” Yoshiki says quietly.
“Really? Ya’ve said before I don’t smell like anything.”
“Ya do now, really strongly. Like oranges and lemons,” He leans down closer to ‘Hikaru’s scent gland, nose twitching, “Kinda sweet too, like fruit punch.”
‘Hikaru’ hums, rubbing against his neck. His scent is an addicting mix of tangy and sweet. It's expressive too, changing with his emotions. It suits him perfectly.
“Ya smell fresh.”
Yoshiki snorts. “That all?”
“Yeah. It’s real good, though. I like it.”
Suddenly, ‘Hikaru’ nips right at his scent gland.
“Hikaru,” he gasps.
‘Hikaru’ nibbles at the spot again. Yoshiki pulls him off by the scruff. He squirms around, trying to escape Yoshiki’s grasp.
“Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t help myself! I don’t know why, but I really want you to smell like me.”
Yoshiki sighs, setting him back down. He really doesn’t know any better.
“Well, it's yer instincts. But you should ask before you do that stuff, especially on the neck. It's sensitive, and only mates bite there.” To prove his point, Yoshiki pokes him in the neck.
“Ow,” ‘Hikaru’ whines. “Okay, okay, I get it.”
At his childish cry, Yoshiki softens, smoothing his thumb over the spot in apology. ‘Hikaru’ is too innocent for his own good. There’s a lot he still doesn’t understand about being human, let alone being an omega.
“You can scent me, just… don’t do it in front of other people. They might get the wrong idea.”
‘Hikaru’ settles right back down in the crook of his neck. He resolutely sticks his nose right in Yoshiki’s scent gland, mushing his face against it like a clingy cat.
“Wrong idea about what?”
“We’re both omegas.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“It just- it ain’t normal, Hikaru.”
As soon as he says the words, he regrets them.
“Okay. Don’t be sad, I can smell it,” ‘Hikaru’ says sullenly. Silently, he cranes his neck, offering for Yoshiki to scent him in return.
“I’m sorry. Don’t listen to me.” Yoshiki leans down, apologetically rubbing his cheek against his scent gland.
He quickly realizes ‘Hikaru’ is purposely trying to make his scent as soothing as possible. Begrudgingly, he has to admit it's working. His too-loud thoughts have started to quiet down.
“I don’t mind that stuff, but other people will think it's weird. You might start getting treated differently now you’ve presented. I just don’t want you getting hurt.”
He wants to protect ‘Hikaru’ from all the difficult realities of the world. In this small town, everything has to be a certain way. Alphas act like this, omegas can only do that. ‘Hikaru’ is too precious to have to worry about any of it.
“As long as I get to be with you, then I don’t mind if it hurts.”
Yoshiki huffs out a laugh. “Ya were just crying about how bad your stomach hurt a few minutes ago.”
“Yeah, and you made it all feel better. I’m glad yer here, Yoshiki.”
Too often Yoshiki felt guilty for wanting to be close to ‘Hikaru’. It wasn’t right, he tried to tell himself over and over. But like this - soft and warm and curled around each other - it was impossible to think of it as anything other than meant to be.
“Me too.”