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It wasn’t often that Violet left town on a business trip, but whenever she did, Blaine always missed her terribly. She sent him daily updates about her trip and he was self-sufficient enough on his own, but their bond felt weakened by the distance and he missed the scent of his Alpha. Burying his face in the covers that smelled like her eased the ache a little bit, but it was far from the feeling of being held by her and scented nightly.
Blaine had counted down the days in agonizing slowness, trying to fill the hole in his heart with other activities, but finally the day he had marked on his calendar arrived. Violet was returning after ten long days apart. She was on the flight home now and Blaine could have sworn he could feel her closer every second through their bond. It thumped steadily in the back of his mind with the excitement and yearning that both of them were experiencing.
The apartment was always nice and tidy, but Blaine had taken the day to make it extra neat. Dinner was currently simmering on the stove, filling the kitchen with a pleasant scent of the stew he had roasted. Violet must be hungry after her long flight, he had thought as he was preparing it. His Alpha had exquisite taste in food and he knew that plain airline food would never satisfy her properly. It was part of the reason he signed himself up for cooking classes back in the day so he could learn how to cook well for her and make her happy. If Violet was happy, then so was he.
On the taxi home, came the text from Violet. Blaine settled onto the sofa and began perhaps the longest stretch of waiting yet, anticipation hammering through him. He missed Violet so much it was difficult to think about anything else now. All week he had been thinking of this day, of the moment Violet would walk through the door and take him in his arms where he always belonged. Knowing her, she would probably scent him for a good couple of hours, but Blaine could not care less. He would let her do anything as long as she let him remain in her embrace.
Blaine’s eyes drifted to the bottle of pills sitting at the counter: his heat suppressants. His heat cycle had been irregular lately and with Violet’s trip meaning she couldn’t be there to take care of him, she had urged him to ask his doctor for the suppressants. He had obeyed, of course; he could never resist her when she worried for him like that. Blaine’s untreated heat wasn’t fatal like it was for some Omegas, but it would still be extremely uncomfortable and put him out of commission for a few days if not dealt with properly. Violet didn’t want him to suffer, he knew that much. Good thing she would be back soon and he wouldn’t have to use the pills.
Finally, Blaine heard the keys jingling at the door and sprang up from the couch. Violet pushed the door open and he was there, eyes brimming with tears with the weight of his yearning. He quickly took all of her luggage, setting it aside before wrapping her in a crushing embrace.
Violet hugged him back with just as much force. Her scent filled his senses once more and he took a greedy inhale at her neck. It was her scent undoubtedly, but the faint unfamiliar scent of others clung to her and Blaine felt jealousy flare through him at the thought of strangers scenting his Alpha, even though Violet would never allow such a thing.
“Blaine,” Violet said with a smile. “I missed you.”
“I missed you so much,” Blaine replied. He still didn’t let go of her and nuzzled into her neck, trying to replace all of those unfamiliar scents with his own. “You don’t smell like me anymore…”
“I will soon.” Violet pulled back to cup his face. He pressed a reverent kiss to the palm of her hand. She pulled him closer to kiss him properly and he felt his knees go weak.
“I made dinner for you,” Blaine stuttered once they pulled apart. “I thought you might be hungry.”
Violet rolled her eyes in exasperation, but there was fondness in there too. “Don’t get me started on airplane food…”
Blaine laughed and led her to sit at the dining table, where he began serving her food. He could feel Violet watching him intently as he ladled stew into her bowl. Did she think about him just as much as he did while she was gone?
But when he moved to start unpacking her stuff, Violet caught him by his hand. “Aren’t you going to come eat with me, Blaine?”
Blaine let himself be led back to the table, Violet’s hand stroking soothing circles into his knuckles. “Oh, of course. Is there anything in your bags that I should take out?”
“No, and I’m sure my clothes won’t disintegrate if left in there for another hour.” Violet’s eyes crinkled warmly whenever she smiled, Blaine noticed. “Besides, we haven’t shared a meal in days.”
Blaine was helpless to her charms, as always. He was pulled into the chair beside Violet, but not before she stole another kiss, leaving him blushing like a schoolboy.
Dinner flowed light and easy. Blaine’s cooking was impeccable and the stew was hearty in a way he knew Violet missed. She told him about his trip and he listened, utterly lovestruck. He felt so comfortable sitting there with her, not just from the stew in his belly but also her presence itself loosening whatever stress he had been feeling.
Violet set down her spoon and reached across the table, taking Blaine’s hand in hers. He squeezed back gently.
“You’ve been quiet,” Violet said. “Is everything okay?”
“It’s nothing,” Blaine replied, shaking his head. “I just missed you, that’s all.”
Violet’s gaze fell on the counter, on the unopened bottle of heat suppressants. “If this is about your cycle again, we can book a doctor’s appointment.”
Blaine shook his head again. “Don’t worry about it. It’s been late before and I’m probably just stressed from work. I don’t want you to worry when you just got back from a trip.”
“Alright.” Violet said after a long pause. “But you have to tell me if you feel off or uncomfortable, okay?”
Blaine gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “I promise.” Then, after a pause, he asked, “Did you like the stew? One of my friends gave me the recipe since he always makes this for his mate after a long day of work. I thought the occasion was fitting.”
“It was perfect, Blaine,” Violet praised him. “The company took me to all kinds of fancy restaurants but I found I still missed your cooking the most.”
“I hope that isn’t all you missed from me,” Blaine teased, reaching to clean up the plates.
Violet laughed and stood up with him. “If you wanted a list of the things I missed, then I fear we’d be here for another ten days.”
With that, all remaining tension left the room and Blaine couldn’t help but smile as he began cleaning up the dishes. Violet volunteered to help but was promptly shooed away. She opted to cling to him instead, arms wrapped around his waist while he waddled around the kitchen the best he could while role-playing as a mother koala.
“Mm, at least you still smell like you,” Violet mumbled against his ear, peering over his shoulder as Blaine was arms deep in the sink scrubbing the dishes. He felt a shiver travel down his back as her breath graced his neck.
“Did you think I was replaced with someone else? Surely I was not acting that off,” Blaine replied.
Violet was too busy scenting him to reply now. Her face was buried in his neck, rubbing intently so her glands would firmly mark him as hers. Blaine’s head was moved around significantly in this process and even though washing dishes was mainly a hands only task, he could not guarantee that he scrubbed every inch of the plates given how distracted he was.
After a few moments of intense scenting, Violet finally came up for air. Blaine could see in the reflection of their stainless steel sink faucet that her hair was all messed up now. He fought the urge to comb his fingers through it and smooth it out, especially since his hands were currently contaminated with dish soap.
Violet stayed attached to him for the entire duration of cleaning the kitchen in order to scent him more. She complimented him on how cute he was wearing the apron she got him for Christmas. “My little chef, so talented,” she said. Her lips were quick to meet the pink blush on his cheeks.
After the dishes were done, Blaine helped her unpack. Knowing his sweet tooth, Violet had brought him so many snacks that he knew he would quickly undo all of his progress at the gym if they were left inside the pantry unchecked. They tried a few for dessert, sitting on the floor of their bedroom with Violet’s clothes scattered around them still. Blaine sneezed at the sheer amount of matcha powder one tart had dusted on top and Violet kissed away a bit of cream that had ended up on his chin somehow. It was so domestic Blaine almost forgot he had been separated from Violet for days.
Blaine leaned against Violet’s shoulder as she showed him the spare change she had collected. They would probably end up on a display shelf somewhere, seeing how Violet loved collecting and organizing things. But for now, the coins were turned between their fingers as they inspected them together. Violet pointed out the important historical landmarks engraved on the coins and Blaine listened, content to just hold her hand and sit with her. Her fingers were so warm where they touched his. Blaine couldn’t help but miss the feeling of her hands joined with hers whenever she reached for a new coin to show him. Oh, how utterly helpless he was when it came to his beloved.
The faint metallic smell of the coins clung to their hands even after Violet had tucked them away in her drawer for future organization.
“Gross,” she mumbled, standing up and stretching out her legs. “Let’s go wash our hands.”
“Do you want me to draw you a bath?” Blaine asked once they were in the bathroom.
Violet considered it for a moment before shaking her head. “No, I think I’d rather just shower and sleep. If I take a bath in my current state I’m going to fall asleep and wake up all pruned.”
The mental image of a pruned and grumpy Violet made Blaine laugh quietly to himself, but Violet heard it anyway. It earned him a light smack to his rear and a “get out of here you brute” as he was ushered out of the bathroom.
Violet washed up quickly and found Blaine already tucked beneath the covers waiting for her. With a smile, she immediately climbed into the covers and spooned him like she always did, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of his neck. Blaine hugged her arm close to his chest. After an unbearable number of days apart, his Alpha was finally with him at last.
The feeling had been tugging at him all evening, but here in Violet’s arms, Blaine finally allowed the transformation to take shape. His limbs shortened, his hair lengthened, and he curled inward until he had fully transformed into his wolf form. Not a full size wolf, since that would surely crush Violet along with the bed. No, Blaine’s transformation turned him into a beast about the length of Violet’s torso, as if he was made to fit perfectly against him.
Violet let out a gasp of surprise as she felt Blaine change in her arms. She gathered him even closer and he felt affection surge through their bond. His tail, the traitorous thing that it was, thumped steadily at the mattress. He tried not to lick at her face since he knew Violet always put so much effort into her skincare, but the wolfish instincts inside of him still made him lick her neck instead.
“Blaine!” Violet scolded, but there was no heat behind it. She had one arm around his back and the other tucking his head against hers so that every available inch of his body was firmly pressed against hers. “No licking my freshly moisturized skin, you naughty little puppy.”
In his excitement and happiness, Blaine couldn’t help the little whines escaping him. He couldn’t speak in this form and could only respond to Violet’s praise with little yips of joy.
“You must have really missed me a lot, hm?” Violet murmured, scratching that sensitive place behind Blaine’s ears that he loved. His legs kicked at the covers helplessly in sensation and he tried to tuck himself even closer to her.
Blaine let out a little bark and began scenting Violet, rubbing his scent glands on her shoulder, her neck, anywhere he could reach except her freshly moisturized face. Violet held him closer and let him. He heard her breathing him in as her hands tightened in his fur.
“Scent me all you like, puppy,” Violet said softly. “I’m yours.”
Blaine obliged and scented her until he could scent no more. His eyes drooped in the dim light and Violet’s eyes softened when she saw how tired he was.
“Poor thing,” she murmured as she scratched his chin. “All tuckered out from scenting me. You’re so sweet, you know that?”
“Arf!”
Violet pressed the softest of kisses to his snout. “You’re perfect, Blaine.”
If Blaine could blush in his wolf form, he would have. But instead he hid his face underneath her chin, too shy to look at her in the eyes after such a statement. Why was it that a little compliment from Violet could undo him so easily?
Violet reached behind him and turned off the bedside lamp, careful not to jostle him too much. Blaine let out a soft whine as it was now ten times as difficult to keep his eyes open in the darkness.
“We should go to sleep, Blaine,” Violet said softly, scratching gently at his head. “It’s been a long day for both of us.”
Blaine nodded the best he could while held so tightly in Violet’s arms. He could hear Violet’s heartbeat slowing as she drifted to sleep herself, and it helped him finally relax his mind and drift off as well.
Tomorrow, Violet would go to work again, but this time much closer to home. The coins she had collected would be cataloged to an excessive degree and polished until they shone. Yet for now, she was with him and he with her, tucked safely in her arms where he belonged.
As it turned out, Blaine was right about his heat being irregular due to stress. But now that his Alpha was back, his body quickly regulated itself and he went into his heat a few days later. Good thing Violet was right there with him now, always ready to take care of her beloved Omega.