Chapter Text
Thomas had always hated the way omegas smelled afraid.
Most alphas loved it, the trembling, the lowered gaze, the instinctive submission that came naturally when an alpha’s pheromones pressed too hard into a room. But Thomas couldn’t stand it. It made him feel cruel without trying.
That’s why Kong confused him so much.
Because Kong never smelled afraid.
Not during their first meeting in the company practice room, where every omega trainee immediately stiffened when Thomas walked in. Not when managers whispered warnings about Thomas’s dominant instincts. Not even when Thomas accidentally released pheromones during evaluations and had half the room scrambling for suppressants.
Kong only looked up from tying his shoelaces and said,
“Can you control that? It’s making my iced coffee taste weird.”
Thomas stared.
The omega didn’t even flinch.
From that day on, Kong became Thomas’s biggest problem.
—
“Your omega’s here.”
“He’s not my omega,” Thomas muttered automatically.
The staff only snorted.
Because everyone knew.
Everyone saw the way Thomas’s eyes followed Kong across every room. The way his usually aggressive pheromones softened whenever Kong laughed nearby. The way Kong casually stole food off Thomas’s plate like he owned him.
And maybe the worst part?
Thomas let him.
No, Thomas liked it.
“Thomas,” Kong called from the hallway, holding up two hoodies. “Black or gray?”
“Black.”
“Wrong answer. Gray looks better on me.”
“Then why ask me?”
Kong grinned. “I like annoying you.”
Omega.
Bratty omega.
Thomas clenched his jaw and looked away before his instincts got worse.
Because Kong didn’t understand what he did to him.
Didn’t understand how dangerous it was to smile like that at an alpha already hanging by a thread.
—
The first time Kong went into heat around him, Thomas almost lost his mind.
It happened during rehearsals.
Kong suddenly stopped dancing mid-count, face paling as he grabbed the mirror for support.
Everyone smelled it seconds later.
Sweet.
Warm.
Omega pheromones flooding the room.
The other alphas immediately turned their heads, instincts spiking dangerously fast.
Thomas moved before thinking.
He shoved one alpha back hard enough to make him stumble and ripped his jacket off to wrap around Kong.
“Out,” Thomas growled.
Nobody argued.
Not when his pheromones exploded through the practice room like a warning shot.
Kong looked dazed beneath the oversized jacket, fingers weakly clutching Thomas’s sleeve.
“Thomas…”
That tiny voice nearly destroyed him.
Thomas got him into a private room, locked the door, and stayed on the opposite side like it physically hurt him.
Which it did.
Because Kong smelled unreal.
And because Kong kept looking at him with glassy eyes and flushed cheeks and trust, way too much trust.
“You can come closer,” Kong whispered.
Thomas laughed bitterly. “You don’t know what you’re saying right now.”
“I do.”
“No, baby, you don’t.”
The pet name slipped accidentally.
Kong froze.
Thomas froze harder.
Then Kong smiled softly despite the heat making him miserable.
“Say it again.”
Thomas was done for.