Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“–ei? Papa Rei!”

Rei jerked awake at the noise, his heart beating rapidly in his ribcage as he groggily took in the situation. When his eyes finally focused on the little girl sitting on his chest, he tried to force himself to relax but instantly winced when a surge of pain shot through his body. 

Above him, Miri frowned and her big eyes squinted in concern.

“Papa Rei, you’re all sweaty,” she noted, her palm reaching out to rest flat on his forehead like he had done to her when she was feverish.

Still half asleep and disoriented from the unfamiliar ache in his bones, Rei reached up and put his hand beside hers. His eyes slipped back closed with a grunt when he realized that yes, he was burning up and his hair was damp with sweat. He’d barely even been out of the house in days and Miri wasn’t sick to transfer anything to him so he was at a loss for what mystery illness could be plaguing him. 

“Papa?” Miri poked at his cheek, clearly uneasy with the silence.

Blue eyes cracked open to take in her worried appearance, and he tried his best to force the tiniest smile to ghost across his lips to reassure her. With a small nudge, he got her to roll off of him and sit on her knees beside him in the tub, her hands now fisted tightly over her pants as he struggled to sit up. 

His abdomen was killing him, cramping and aching like he’d been shot through the layers of muscle. No, a bullet wound hurt less than this. Miri watched with a worried expression as he finally got into a sitting position, his shaky breaths coming out sharp and pained. 

“I’m fine,” he reassured her. His teeth dug into his lower lip to keep any pained noises from slipping out unintentionally.

“Are you sick, Papa Rei? We have medicine!” Miri looked up at him with wide eyes, clearly itching to crawl into his lap but restraining herself.

Rei thought over the offer, but he figured it probably wasn’t a good idea to have a four-year-old rifling around in the medicine cabinet, Kazuki would skin him alive when he got home. 

“Is Kazuki back?” he asked, his head falling into his hands.

Miri made a small noise of discontent and shook her head.

“Papa Kazuki was on your phone. He said for Miri to wake you up!” She explained. 

Rei sighed and nodded, his head pounding relentlessly with each passing second. 

Kazuki had left early yesterday morning leaving Rei alone to look after Miri. Something about visiting family, he didn’t pry and the alpha hadn’t offered any more than that before kissing Miri goodbye and promising to be back by Sunday afternoon. 

Yesterday had been fine, Rei picked Miri up from daycare and they spent the evening eating the frozen meals Kazuki had left for them and playing video games until the little girl could barely keep her eyes open. She only asked for Kazuki once, after Rei had carried her up to bed and she’d begged him to tell her a bedtime story like her other father had done every night in their care. Not one to be filled with fictional happy endings, Rei had told her he didn’t know any, and that she should think of one to tell him in the morning to lull herself to sleep. Thankfully, the suggestion was taken happily and she let him slip out of the room without any fuss. 

He had felt a little off after putting her to bed, but didn’t think anything of it at the time. After putting away the few dishes they had dirtied, he’d been hit with an overwhelming wave of fatigue, and he went to lay down in the tub earlier than he had in a while. Being a parent without Kazuki around was exhausting, so he didn’t think anything of it when sleep overtook him swiftly. 

“–pa Rei?” A small voice brought him back to the present.

Rei angled his head up to find Miri staring at him still, her head tilted slightly to the left as she waited for him to say something. 

“I’m okay, Miri. Can you please bring me my phone?” He asked, his voice quiet to not aggravate the pounding in his skull.

The toddler nodded sharply and dug the device out of the front pocket of her little overalls, having stored it there after she found it ringing nonstop that morning on the couch. 

He accepted the phone with a shaky hand and pulled up his messages to type out a quick text to Kazuki, letting him know that he was sick so he didn’t answer the phone but everything was okay and he didn’t need to come home early. Miri watched him finish up the message before he sat the phone on the edge of the tub so he wouldn’t miss it if it rang again.

“Are you hungry? We can order something,” he offered, one of his hands raking through his sweaty hair. It was bothering him, but he didn’t even have it in him to tie it away from his face at the moment. 

Miri shook her head and reached out to grab onto his knees.

“I ate a poptart from the cabinet! Do you want one, Papa Rei?” She offered, the worried expression on her face already slipping away with her short attention span.

Rei shook his head and sighed deeply. He didn’t want to upset Miri, but he didn’t think he would be able to move from the tub, his body betraying him and causing sleep to pull harshly at the edges of his consciousness once more. The quiet ping of an incoming text chimed from his phone but he didn’t move to read it.

“I need to lay back down—can you watch TV for a little while until I feel better?” He was already shifting to curl back up in the tub as he spoke.

“Yes, Papa! Miri can be your nurse!” She exclaimed, the volume making the omega wince. 

“Thank you, nurse. Come get me if you need something, okay?” He was already halfway to being unconscious, his eyes cracked open just enough to see her nod and scramble out of the tub with a strained huff. 

“Night night!” She giggled as her footsteps tumbled out of the bathroom, leaving him in silence once again. 

His legs curled up to his chest as another aching wave of pain rippled down his spine. What on Earth was wrong with him? Distantly, he heard another chime from his phone, but he was already slipping away into a deep sleep and it remained unchecked. 

The rest of the day passed oddly for the sick omega. He was in and out of consciousness, and barely lucid even when he did manage to open his eyes and take in his surroundings. The pain in his abdomen only grew each time he was awakened, to the point where he thought he might even be sick; but the urge to expel anything never came, the ache instead sitting like a stone in his gut and radiating out to the rest of his body. 

He was vaguely aware of Miri coming in and out as the light filtering in from the closed blinds grew brighter. She had brought him some pre-packaged snacks from the cabinet and bottles of water from the fridge, begging him to eat and drink when he was awake enough to do so. He complied on autopilot, in too much pain to argue or think through how he should be doing the parenting, not the four-year-old.

Rei was awoken another time when a warm body against his back curled closer. It must have been mid afternoon, if the softer glow from the window was anything to go by, and Miri had climbed into the tub to wrap herself around the omega’s back to join him for her daily nap. He had settled back down once he realized what was happening, and let his head fall back against his arm curled up against the porcelain. 

Miri had dug her nose into the space between his shoulder blades, and he felt her little fingers tangle in the hair at his nape as they both slipped back into sleep. 

“–ing home, okay? I’ll be there soon!”  

“Okay, Papa Kazuki!

The tail-end of the conversation jolted Rei out of another fretful sleep, and he blinked blearily up at the little girl perched on the edge of the tub, his phone clutched in her tiny hand. Noticing his awake state, Miri squealed and slipped down beside him to pet at his head.

“Papa Kazuki is coming home early!” She explained in a cheery voice, her eyes squinted closed in a blinding smile.

Rei barely processed what she had said before he was being dragged under by another debilitating wave of exhaustion, the continued soft touches from the little girl following him into sleep. 

“Miri? Rei?”

“In here, Papa!”

“Rei, what is goi–oh, shit . . .”

“Papa Rei is sick, he’s been real extra sleepy today.”

“Miri, go get your bag and pick out some clothes okay? You’re going to have a sleepover with Kyu-chan.”

Rei blinked his eyes open at the sound of loud footsteps scampering across the hardwood, and he gasped when a familiar scent tickled his nose and sent another pang of sensation through his body. Was that. . . Kazuki? It wasn’t even Sunday yet, what was he doing back? He was vaguely aware of the blonde talking, though he couldn’t quite tell if it was directed at him or Miri.

“–ell me, Rei? Goddamit, you’re in heat you idiot!”

“I’m taking Miri to stay with Kyu for the next few days, I’ll be back soon.”

“Papa Kazuki, I’m ready!”

“Coming!”

Rei slid back into unconsciousness as the sound of the front door clicking shut echoed up from downstairs.

Chapter Text

“Oh, shit,” Kazuki sighed, his back hitting the door with a solid thump. 

It had gotten so much worse in the short amount of time it took to deliver Miri to Kyutaro at the bar. Even though he was slumped against the front door, the scent of Rei’s heat had already grown to saturate even the lower level of the apartment. The slightly acidic notes of red spider lilies and rain tickled Kazuki’s nose and made his teeth grind together where his jaw was tightly snapped shut. 

In all of the years he’s worked and lived alongside the omega, he never once could remember Rei going into heat. He supposed it should've been odd, maybe a cause for concern, but the grumpy younger man wasn’t big on spilling the darker secrets of his past, and Kazuki never tried to pry in fear of his own coming back to haunt him. 

His eyes slipped closed and he tried to rack his brain for any clue, any inkling or memory of Rei mentioning any health conditions or medications that could cause the sudden change. Did he never say anything when Kazuki would book a hotel for his own rut twice a year? It wouldn’t be in his character to make a big deal out of it, and Kazuki couldn’t recall any mention of plans for his own cycle that should have come several times over in the years they’d been together. 

Feeling utterly defeated, he let his head bang against the surface of the door before dragging himself away to head back upstairs. 

It had been a long time since he’d been in the presence of a heating omega, and though he thought he could handle himself, he was not prepared for what he felt once the bathroom door was yanked open again. 

Rei’s scent was overwhelming.  

The omega normally had a subdued scent, it was hardly noticeable at all when they first met and only distinguishable to the alpha once they’d started spending nearly all of their time in close proximity. 

But now, it was stifling. Kazuki covered his nose with his sleeve on instinct, fearful of the tug in his chest at such powerful pheromones calling out for his help. No, he was in control, he could do this. Rei was clearly beyond the point of being able to stay at a hotel catering to heating omegas, and he definitely didn’t have an alpha lined up to help him out if he got there. The thought made Kazuki pause in his inner turmoil. Has he ever known Rei to pursue an alpha? Or anyone at all? In the years he’s lived with the omega, he can’t recall a single instance of a one night stand and especially not a significant other. 

Something was up, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it. 

A pitiful sound from the tub shook him out of his thoughts. Right, Rei first.

Kazuki walked closer to peer over the edge of the tub, and his expression fell at what he saw.

Rei was curled up tightly into himself, his knees pulled so close to his chest that his chin was tucked in against them. He only had on a thin t-shirt and shorts–his hoodie was discarded and abandoned at his feet–yet he was sweating along his hairline and flushed across his cheekbones. He was entirely vulnerable, laying there twitching and whimpering as he slept. 

With his eyes trained on the omega’s pinched expression, Kazuki steeled himself and slowly uncovered his nose. The scent hit him full-force once more, causing long-unused neurons to fire in his brain and jumpstart his protective instincts. He was an alpha and there was an omega in heat, it was his biological imperative to take care of them in any way they needed. And the fact that it was Rei; Rei who had been the sole occupant of all of his waking and resting thoughts for the past year or so, it definitely made the desire to come to his aid stronger than he’d experience if it were anyone else. 

Pushing away his ridiculous, unresolved, and unrequited affections, Kazuki knelt beside the tub and reached a hand down to gently push against the omega’s shoulder to rouse him.

Rei groaned at the touch and tucked his face in closer to his knees, a small huff of breath escaping his lips before he settled once more.

“Rei,” another shake, “You’ve got to wake up, god knows how long you’ve been laying there . . .” 

Another pitiful noise slipped out in reply.

“I mean it. Little Miri was worried sick about you! She said you wouldn’t wake up and I–I just thought the worst okay? So get. Up.” Kazuki leaned over the edge of the tub to haul the omega up into a sitting position without his help.

Rei startled awake at the action, and his eyes sluggishly fell on Kazuki before he blinked a few times like he couldn’t quite process what he was seeing. The usually sharp edge to his indigo eyes was gone, replaced by a pained glassy expression that cut Kazuki right to his core. He’d never seen the omega so out of it, not even when he was half-conscious and bleeding out as Kazuki stitched him back together after a number of missions gone sideways. 

“Kazuki?” he mumbled, his voice shaky and barely audible, “What’re you doin’ back?”

The blonde shook his head fondly, and leaned his arms on the edge of the tub.

“I came back early. Rei, why didn’t you tell me your heat was coming? I’d have rescheduled the visit,” he scolded him.

Rei’s eyes blinked slowly before slipping closed once again.

“Didn’t know . . . ’s what it was,” his hushed reply faded out at the end as his head slowly started to tip forward.

“Hey hey hey, stay with me. You need to eat something, and bathe–when did you last take any medicine?” Kazuki prevented the omega from banging his head on the rim of the tub with a steady hand on his shoulder.

“Haven’t,” Rei mumbled, his closed eyelids fluttering as he fought against exhaustion. 

Kazuki winced at the knowledge. Alpha ruts were nowhere near as painful as heats, and yet he still struggled to go through a cycle, even one with a partner, without any sort of pain relief. Rei must be in unimaginable pain, and the thought sent a pang of hurt right through Kazuki’s chest.

“Listen, lean back a bit, okay?” Kazuki lowered him to lay reclined against the sloping back of the tub, making sure his head wasn’t at an odd angle to cause anymore discomfort, “Don’t fall asleep, I’m coming right back.”

Once he made sure that Rei would be fine for just a few minutes unattended, Kazuki raced back downstairs to the medicine drawer and rifled through the options until he could find some extra-strength painkillers. Stuffing a few options in his jacket pocket, he went to the kitchen next and grabbed a few bottles of water out of the fridge and opened the pantry for easy-to-eat snacks. Only, the pantry was nearly bare when it was flung open. Hadn’t he just gone to the market a few days before leaving town?

A dreadful realization sunk into the pit of his stomach as he slowly pieced together the reasoning behind the empty shelves. He recalled the week leading up to this eventful weekend. Rei had been eating more at mealtimes, sometimes second and third helpings, and snacking periodically throughout the day which was unusual for the omega who normally forgot to eat at all if Kazuki didn’t remind him. He’d also been sleeping an unusually long amount of time as well; sure, he had a habitually terrible sleep schedule, so it wasn’t uncommon for him to nap throughout the day when they weren't working, but as Kazuki could recall, he’d been sleeping through the night as well. He should’ve realized what was going on when Rei started to forgo playing video games all night until the sun rose and instead slept soundly for uninterrupted hours on end. 

He’d been in pre-heat, and Kazuki had been too much of a moron to take note and prepare everyone to help him through it. 

Forcing down the self-loathing threatening to choke him from within, Kazuki managed to grab a box of protein bars from the back of the top shelf before practically flying back upstairs and into the bathroom. Thankfully, Rei hadn’t moved from his position, though he’d tossed his head back against the lip of the tub, exposing the slender line of his throat and highlighting the way his breaths came out labored and panting. He looked like he was burning up, and it was confirmed when Kazuki brushed dark hair away from his face and put his palm flat against the omega’s damp forehead. 

“Here, meds first. They should help with the pain and your fever,” he explained in a hushed tone.

Kazuki held a small white pill against Rei’s lower lip until the omega opened up just enough to let him carefully place it on his tongue and hold a water bottle up next. He held it there until he made sure at least a few large gulps made it down his throat to wash down the pill before pulling it away and recapping it for later. The alpha started unloading his pockets, sorting through the assorted supplies he was able to carry up from downstairs when a small noise drew his attention.

“Kazuki?” Rei groaned, his eyes half open but visually wilting as he stared at the blonde.

Kazuki immediately abandoned his organizing and turned his full attention back to the heating omega in the tub. 

“I feel like shit,” he continued, his voice raspy from disuse. 

Kazuki’s expression warmed a bit from its concerned mask, and a small pitying smile etched across his features. 

“The meds should kick in soon. Is your first day usually this bad?” He pried, not-so-secretly hoping to get some answers out of the raven.

Rei’s head tilted up just slightly as his eyes slowly focused on Kazuki. He stared at him for what felt like an eternity, an unknown emotion simmering behind the haze of heat.

“Dunno,” he finally whispered, “Never had one before.”

He had suspected it, but the confirmation still made Kazuki hesitate. They’d just celebrated the omega’s twenty-sixth birthday a month ago, so the fact that his first heat was over a decade too late was cause for concern. Rei was keeping something from him, but it wasn’t the time to go investigating too deep into his private life; the omega needed his help even if he’d never ask for it, and Kazuki wouldn’t dream of abandoning him in his time of need. 

A deep sigh escaped the alpha’s lips as he thought over what to do next. He wanted to make sure that Rei actually got some food into him, but the more pressing matter was getting him out of the tub and into a proper nest. 

“Listen, everything’s gonna be fine, okay?” The words came out unsure like Kazuki was trying to convince himself rather than the half-awake omega. 

“Can. . . can I help you wash off? I think it would make you feel better, for sure.”

The silence hung heavy between them as Rei seemed to contemplate the offer. Just when Kazuki started to feel his skin prickling with impending sweat along his nape, the omega held eye contact with the little strength he had left and nodded solemnly. 

Releasing a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, Kazuki nodded back–again, more to himself–and shed himself of his jacket that he’d been too preoccupied to remove earlier. He looked pointedly down at Rei’s curled up body, asking wordlessly to help remove the scarce clothing sticking messily to his heated skin. He received another slow nod and got started on the task. 

“This takes me back,” he mumbled cheerily, an awkward attempt to break the stifling air of uncertainty between them.

It wasn’t the first time he’d forced the omega to bathe, not even the first time that it had been his own hands doing the scrubbing. But, the new revelation of heat had the gears in his head creaking their way through each thought as he moved to help Rei undress. 

Thankfully, Rei didn’t have any of the usual combative bite that typically accompanied Kazuki demanding him to maintain better personal hygiene. He simply let the alpha strip him of his soiled clothes, tipping his head and moving his limbs sluggishly when prompted until he was sitting bare in the tub.

Against his will, scarlet eyes dipped lower to glance at the mess between the omega’s slightly parted thighs. Rei was hard and leaking where his cock stood up against his stomach, and lower still, his inner thighs were a slick-wet mess from hours of building heat going unchecked. Kazuki swallowed audibly and forced himself to look away and reach for the faucet, the loud sound of the running water filling the silence of the room as he waited for the water level to rise. 

Inside, Kazuki was grappling with two sides of himself. With Rei fully divulged of all of his clothes, his scent was so much stronger, the enticing pull of heat swirling around Kazuki’s head and muddling his thoughts. One one hand, this was his best friend, his trusted work partner and the co-parent of his child. On the other hand, he was the object of all of his deepest desires, a secretly kind-hearted, closely guarded omega that intrigued Kazuki in a way he’d never thought he would be lucky enough to experience again. His hands were tied, he wouldn’t dare compromise the trust they’d built over the years in favor of satisfying his own irrelevant affections, especially while Rei was in the throes of heat. 

But, the longer he remained in the omega’s presence, the more affected he became; he had to resolutely ignore the tightening of his pants in favor of making sure Rei was taken care of first and foremost. Kazuki had the self-control, and his immediate desire to make sure the omega’s needs were seen to overpowered any other desires pooling low in his gut. 

He was at an absolute impasse over how to approach the situation, but unfortunately Rei couldn’t wait around for him to process his thoughts on the matter. He needed Kazuki’s help now, and the alpha quickly set aside all of his simmering emotions in favor of doing his duty to one of the people he cares most for in the entire world. 

With the water level high enough to reach Rei’s chest, Kazuki cranked the faucet valve closed and immediately reached for the soap and a clean rag. Rei was still out of it, his head tipped forward with his chin resting against his own chest and small puffs of breath coming out of his parted lips. 

He was completely vulnerable like this, and the thought made Kazuki’s chest hurt. What would he have done if Miri hadn’t picked up the phone and told Kazuki the truth about what had been going on? Would he have just suffered through the worst of it until the pain consumed him whole? Kazuki couldn’t bear the thought of the omega all alone and in agony during one of nature’s cruelest jokes on an unpartnered alpha or omega. 

Trying to ignore the anxiety bubbling up in his gut, Kazuki threw himself headfirst into the task of washing Rei as fast and as thoroughly as possible. The omega only flinched once at the first drag of the washcloth along his heated skin, but otherwise didn’t acknowledge the careful attention even though Kazuki suspected he was at least awake if not alert. 

Giving him a heads up first, Kazuki grabbed the cup they used to wash Miri’s hair and poured it out over Rei’s head to wash his sweat-drenched strands. With his hands covered in soapy suds and buried in the omega’s dark hair, Kazuki allowed his gaze to wander over the expanse of pale skin peeking over the waterline. 

Of course, he’d seen Rei naked plenty of times in the years they’d lived and worked together, and vice versa. It was practically impossible, in their line of work, to not catch a glimpse when quick outfit changes and multiple-day stakeouts were the norm. Not to mention the many times that he’d been in this exact situation practically holding the omega hostage in the sudsy water, though this occurrence was severely lacking any irritated grumbling and snapping remarks from the younger man. 

The task felt much more intimate with the heavy saturation of heat hanging in the air, and Kazuki had to shake himself out of his wandering thoughts once he realized he’d paused in his  scrubbing at the omega’s scalp. Rei didn’t seem to notice, his body lax under Kazuki’s touch.

As he finished up, Kazuki traced the raised scars along the omega’s shoulders with his eyes. Rei wasn’t shy about them, but he never offered any explanation when he noticed Kazuki’s stare linger just a bit too long on the countless marks. The closest he’d gotten had been when Miri had innocently asked him ‘why he had so many lines’ and he’d told her the truth, that bad people had tried to hurt him at work. Kazuki had scrambled to divert her attention quickly at the time, but at the moment the confession was bouncing around his head without reprieve. 

It was true that the multitude of raised lines and gunshot wounds told the story of a survivor, one for which Kazuki held infinite respect for in that right. But, for every indentation and imperfection that he recognized from one of their joint jobs, some that Kazuki had even stitched up himself, there were also ones that were less noticeable, faded almost into nothing with the passing of time. It made Kazuki’s stomach turn, knowing that many were much too old, too healed, to have been acquired on the job, at an age acceptable for a career filled with such pain and suffering. No, many of Rei’s scars predated his time as a professional hitman, and Kazuki had to fight to tamp down the growing rage he felt for those that had inflicted such suffering. 

A small noise brought him out of his vengeful plotting, and Kazuki leaned over to see that Rei had shifted his arms to wrap around his middle, a pained grimace plastered over his normally passive expression. 

“Almost done,” he muttered softly, pouring another cup full of water over Rei’s tilted head to wash away the last of the suds clinging to dark strands. 

The loud gurgling of the tub draining filled the silence as Kazuki stood up to fetch a towel and fresh clothes from the laundry room. He only allowed a brief moment of self-chastising for selecting articles from his own stack of recently folded clothes, allowing his inner alpha the tiniest crumb of satisfaction at covering the heating omega in his own clothes. And if he managed to scent the garments quickly on his way back to the bathroom, the drag of fabric along his jaw and neck soaking his scent into the pieces, then no one would have to know. 

Predictably, Rei was back on his way to being catatonic again when Kazuki returned to the bathroom. With the tub fully drained, he’d curled up into himself again at the bottom, shivering slightly as the air from the fan danced over his wet skin. 

Kazuki bent down to pull him into a sitting position again, and he draped the fluffy towel over his shoulders and started dragging it over his body. Rei only grumbled his dissatisfaction once when Kazuki scrubbed the towel over his hair until it was only barely damp and sticking up in all directions. The look of betrayal on his face forced a small laugh from the alpha’s lips and he quickly smoothed down the errand strands in apology before helping him into the clothes he’d brought.

Rei didn’t comment on his choice of garments, nor the obvious scent-claim saturating them. He simply allowed Kazuki to dress him with steady hands, just as complacent and helpful as Miri was in the morning before daycare. He must be really out of it to not fight the alpha even a little bit, and Kazuki made quick work of getting him sorted and out of the tub.

“Hold on to me,” Kazuki didn’t give him the chance to argue that he could walk by himself, he simply scooped the omega up into his arms and stood to leave the bathroom.

Rei was heavier than he looked, his wiry build deceiving, but he helped as much as he could with the remainder of his strength to support himself where his arms were wrapped loosely around Kazuki’s neck. His head was tucked under the alpha’s chin, cheek smushed against his red sweater as they moved down the short hallway.

Kazuki toed open the door to Rei’s often unused bedroom and bent to place the omega down onto the bed. He’d nearly succeeded, only, he was prevented from depositing him there by a last ditch effort on the omega’s part to cling to his neck and a pitiful growl rumbling out of his chest. 

“Rei, c’mon quit messing around,” he tried to sit him down again only for the hold around his neck to tighten and the growl to grow slightly louder. 

“I mean it, you’re not nesting in the bathtub,” he argued.

In his arms, Rei stiffened before the fight left him as his energy quickly drained away in favor of another wave of stifling heat-induced exhaustion. He huffed out a pitiful noise into the crook of Kazuki’s neck and mumbled something that the alpha had to strain to understand even in such close proximity.

“Not here,” he mumbled, barely audible, “Doesn’t. . .feel right.”

Kazuki froze at the confession, and his eyebrows pinched together in concern. He was resolute in his decision to not let Rei nest in the tub, no matter what the omega said it couldn’t be comfortable, and it was entirely impractical for the both of them if his heat lasted more than a few days.

He was about to just give up and comply with Rei’s wishes, comfort be damned, until something happened that caused his pulse to race under his skin and a zap of affection to run down his spine. 

Rei’s hold around his neck had gone completely lax, having lost the fight with sleep in the small time it took to argue over where he should bed down for his heat. The small growl vibrating in his chest had petered out and had been replaced with another sound that Kazuki had never heard from the solemn omega.

He was purring.  

It was quiet and scratchy from disuse, but it was there, tickling Kazuki’s throat where Rei had buried his cold nose before succumbing to sleep. 

Reeling from the realization of such a trusting gesture, Kazuki glanced at Rei’s empty bed one more time before turning and leaving the room with the omega still cradled in his arms. The floor underneath his feet creaked slightly as he traveled the few steps across the hall to his own bedroom. 

Chapter Text

“Oh good, you’re awake,” a soft voice pulled Rei the last little bit into the waking world.

He’d only just regained consciousness, a small yawn slipping past his lips and his limbs stretching out before the greeting came. With a huff, Rei cracked open his eyes to see Kazuki’s smiling face leaning over him. 

“Oh shit–” Rei gasped suddenly when a painful wave of cramping rippled through his abdomen.

Right. One of the last things he remembered from yesterday was Kazuki coming home and telling him that…that he was in heat. He never knew having one could be so painful, but evidently the many years of suppression had caught up to him with a vengeance. 

“Oh! Not good, let me grab some more painkillers,” Kazuki interrupted his train of thought.

Rei watched as the blonde stood up from the bed–wait, was this Kazuki’s room?–and walked over to the dresser where a multitude of supplies were spread out and organized. Water bottles, pre-packaged snacks, containers of medicine, apparently anything that could possibly be needed to take care of a heating omega. 

While the alpha scrambled for the right items, Rei pushed himself up into a sitting position and took in his current state. He barely remembered the events of yesterday, the biological imperative to conserve as much energy as possible for his heat winning out against anything going on around him. He was lucky that Miri–

“Wait, where’s Miri?” He asked, a slight shake in his voice.

Kazuki’s shoulders went stiff for a moment before relaxing, and he turned around with a soft expression on his face. He made it back to the bed in just a few steps and handed over a couple of white pills and a full water bottle to the younger man.

“She’s with Kyu. I already called the daycare just in case it ends up being more than a few days, since I don’t suppose you have a frame of reference to know how long your heat will last,” he explained, a nervous hand scratching at the back of his neck. 

Rei caught his gaze briefly before grunting out the affirmative and swallowing the pills without fuss. He usually wasn’t one to require medicinal intervention, they were mainly around for Kazuki who whined like a baby anytime he so much as stubbed his toe. Even so, Rei couldn’t deny that he hadn’t felt this bad in as long as he could remember; stab wounds hurt less than what he was feeling at the moment. 

Once he had the pills down followed by a few good gulps of water, Rei handed the bottle back to Kazuki and observed his surroundings. He vaguely, vaguely remembered Kazuki coming back yesterday and bathing him, but not much beyond that. He definitely didn’t remember how he ended up in the alpha’s bed, or how he was layered in his clothes, the scent of sun-dried linen and citrus overtaking his senses. His eyes traveled from the fabric of gray sweatpants to where a multitude of blankets and some of his own clothes had been piled around on the bed neatly, clearly in a meticulous pattern.

“You did this?” He asked quietly, his fingers reaching out unconsciously to stroke at the softness of the fabrics. 

Kazuki’s face turned bright red and he laughed awkwardly to stifle his embarrassment. 

“Well I–yeah, um–I knew it could help you feel better and, well…I remember how to do it,” he mumbled the last part, eyes falling to the nest as well. 

Rei didn’t pry on the logistics, instead he secretly marveled at the gesture, his eyes roaming over the carefully placed layers of blankets and clothing articles. He’d never actually made a nest himself, his father had forbidden anything of the sort while he was under his roof, and by the time he moved out the skill had never developed nor did he ever feel the need for one. The closest he ever came included dragging a thin blanket into the tub to sleep with when the winter months were especially straining on the heating in his apartment, but he hardly thought that should count compared to what was surrounding him now. 

“It’s…nice,” he swallowed around the word, unsure if that was even the right thing to say in the situation but until the painkillers kicked in he still felt too out of it to come up with anything better. 

It must have been the right thing though, since it broke Kazuki out of his sudden melancholic expression and he tilted his head back up to show off the smile gracing his lips. He chuckled to himself and ran a hand through his hair, his kind eyes falling on Rei and sending a strange feeling running through his body.

“Good, I’m glad you like it. If you’re feeling okay, I’m gonna go make us something to eat, you’ve been asleep for hours now,” Kazuki offered kindly.

Rei looked back down at his own lap at the news and nodded slightly. He didn’t want to admit it out loud but the alpha’s presence was making him feel strange, not himself. The only thing he really wanted was some alone time to process his thoughts on everything that had happened in the last several hours. 

“Just yell if you need anything, I won’t be long,” the alpha murmured, fixing Rei with another soft look before leaving the room. 

With Kazuki gone, Rei let out a slow breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. The unfamiliar pit in his stomach that had been sparking to life over the last few months was going haywire, and he wasn’t so sure that it was just his heat causing the reaction. Kazuki takes care of him all of the time, had been for years, but knowing that he did all of this for him while he was basically out-of-commission had Rei seriously questioning his feelings for the blonde. He recognized early on that he was drawn to the alpha, but who wasn’t? He was sociable, kind, and empathetic; he could make friends out of anybody, and who wouldn’t radiate towards positive energy like that?

The feelings of appreciation and respect had always been there, even early in their co-workers turned roommates arrangement, but back then Rei had still been too reclusive and unwilling–afraid–to spend any real time together that didn’t involve planning or executing a job. It was only after Miri had come into their lives that he made any significant effort to spend more time around others, even if it was by forced proximity at the beginning. Nowadays he didn’t need to be dragged out of the bathroom, or persuaded into eating meals at the table with the rest of the family, he just did it automatically; and with enthusiasm, albeit very contained and internalized enthusiasm. 

He was happy with the arrangement that they’d established as a family unit, but lately those feelings had been centralized on a very particular cornerstone of the small pack. Rei often found himself focusing more intently on the alpha’s gestures in taking care of them, and appreciating them that much more once he realized how much thought went into the small acts of kindness. He’d never felt this way about anyone before, had craved their attention and their respect and, something else that he didn’t even know he had the capacity to feel.

With his thoughts now muddled beyond belief, Rei let himself collapse back onto the bed and tried to ignore the unfamiliar ache of emotions in his chest. He couldn’t deny how comfortable Kazuki’s bed and the nest of blankets was beneath him. Rei wasn’t used to comfort, least of all allowing himself to fall asleep in such a vulnerable position, yet something deep inside of him cheered at the comfort provided, and his eyes started to slowly slip closed. 

The bed was warm where he’d been laying, but it wasn’t uncomfortably so. Driven by a long-forgotten instinct, Rei rolled over until his face was buried in the softness of a scent-soaked blanket. He didn’t stop to think about the fact that it was Kazuki’s scent he was craving, only that the more he inhaled the more relaxed he felt and the tingling sensation along his skin intensified. 

With his hands buried in layers of thick covers, Rei dragged his face against the nest, unconsciously grazing the stimulated scent glands along his jaw across the fabric to blend with the alpha’s unique presence. It was probably rude to stake such an obvious scent-claim on someone else’s bed, but Rei couldn’t bring himself to stop, especially when the mixture of the scents together had his chest simmering with warmth. He kept going, twisting and turning and rolling in the nest to cover himself with as much of the comforting scent as possible and to embed his own into the structure alongside it. 

He was so preoccupied that he didn’t notice Kazuki stepping back into the room until a small laugh pulled him out of his squirming. 

Rei’s cheeks were flushed pink in embarrassment at being caught, and he shot back up into a sitting position, his hair askew from his writhing. Kazuki was standing in the doorway with two bowls in his hands, a barely concealed smile threatening to fully overtake his face.

“That–I wasn’t…” Rei stammered, his eyes wide. 

“It's fine, Rei. You’re in heat, it’s kinda the universal excuse to get to do what you want for a few days,” Kazuki laughed it off easily and approached the bed. Rei was lucky, if he wasn’t so pitifully under the weather then the alpha would have surely ribbed him for such an embarrassing act. 

“Here,” he offered one of the bowls which Rei took without meeting his eyes, “Eat up! No tomatoes, no mushrooms. I’ll give you a pass, you can skip out on them for now.”

His face continued to flame red as they ate in relative silence with Kazuki offering up a few anecdotes of texts Miri had sent him throughout the day from Kyu’s phone. Rei didn’t add much to the conversation, which was typical, but he especially didn’t trust himself to open his mouth for anything other than shoveling food into it for the time being. He thanked Kazuki for the food when they were both done and moved to lay back down while Kazuki took their dishes to the kitchen.

This heat was already getting the better of him and it had just barely begun.

.

.

.

An unknown amount of time later, Rei woke up from another period of deep sleep, his head groggy and body aching despite the rest. The room was mostly dark, the only light filtering in was from the closed blinds spreading streaks along the walls and half of the bed. With a groan, Rei rolled over onto his back and flinched when he noticed another presence in the bed beside him.

“Whoah, it’s okay, it’s just me,” Kazuki held up his hands in surrender to placate the startled omega.

Rei punched him in the thigh, not as hard as he would’ve an intruder, but enough to make the alpha whine and complain about it. Kazuki was sitting up in bed next to him, his laptop open presumably to work on intel gathering for the job they had coming up in two weeks. 

“I take it you’re not feeling any better?” Kazuki grumbled, rubbing at his sore muscle and shooting the omega an accusatory glare that lacked any real heat. 

At the reminder, Rei became all too aware of the pain that had returned after sleeping. His internal organs felt like they were trying to claw their way out of him, and shifting his position made it embarrassingly obvious how hard he was in his sweatpants, and something else that he refused to even acknowledge. 

“Here, cranky,” Kazuki held out another dose of painkillers and a half-full bottle of water.

“‘M not cranky,” Rei argued, crankily. 

“What are you doing here?” He asked before tossing the pills into his mouth and swallowing them down with the water.

“Hey! This is my bed you’re holed up in,” the reminder had Rei’s cheeks flushing again, “and besides, one of us has to get this done if we want to meet the deadline on this job.”

Rei opened his mouth to protest but the fight died out of him fast when he realized that Kazuki was right. He was in his bed, and though he couldn’t recall the full story of how he ended up there, the thought of leaving made a twinge of anxiety spike in the back of his throat. Deciding to let sleeping dogs lie, he rolled over so that his back was facing the alpha and closed his eyes to try and go back to sleep. 

The clock on the wall kept softly ticking and Kazuki’s fingers tapped away on the keys to fill the silence of the room. Rei could feel how exhausted he still was, but the aching in his hips only grew worse as he laid awake, unable to truly fall asleep.

Even after what he guessed must have been half an hour with his eyes still closed, the pain meds had done very little to dull the constant ache. He was nearly at his wits end, and he let out a deep frustrated sigh into his pillow.

“Still grumpy over there?” Kazuki’s voice was quiet even in the silence of the night.

Rei rolled his eyes even though his back was still to the blonde. 

“Y’know…you are in heat. An orgasm or two would help, I can leav–”

“Shut up, ” Rei snapped, cutting the alpha off mid-sentence. 

Kazuki didn’t reply, just sighed deeply and went back to typing away on the computer. 

Rei didn’t even want to entertain the thought. He hadn’t had those urges since he was a hormone-riddled pre-teen, freshly curious about what was between his legs and fearless to explore himself accordingly. The interest quickly died when his father had found out about the sudden change.

Looking back, he should’ve known that his room was under careful video surveillance, but the naivety of childhood and brainwashing of his upbringing hadn’t planted the seed of doubt yet. After the first time he’d been caught, his father had started him on the highest dose of suppressants available on the black market and starved him for a week for good measure. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough of a deterrent for an uninformed teen boy, and the second time it had happened, his father took his clothes next; he’d forced him to continue his training like that for a week, in the biting cold of winter and surrounded by scores of grown adults who leered and grabbed at him like a piece of meat. After that, the suppressants had finally started to hinder the hormone storm, and the urge went away completely in favor of being the perfect complacent soldier. 

Even when he’d stopped taking the illegal-strength medication, he never felt attraction to anyone or anything and eventually figured that the years of putting his body through hell had broken something inside of him that everyone else seemed to have. But he never had a problem with his disinterest before; he was fine being alone, and he couldn’t miss out on something he didn’t even want.

That all changed, however, when Kazuki burst his way into Rei’s life. 

Although he still couldn’t come to terms on what his heart was feeling towards the alpha, he’d definitely taken notice of how his body had been reacting as of late, alone in the dark of the bathroom as he laid awake and stared at the ceiling. He hadn’t acted on anything, admittedly embarrassed at his lack of knowledge and choosing instead to ignore it in the hope that it went away by morning. 

But at the moment, there was no hope for such a thing. He was wide awake, cramping, hard, and damp between the legs. Miserable, it what it was, and he took in a deep breath to prepare himself for what he was about to have to do. 

He shifted to peek over his shoulder, eyes tracing the glow of the computer screen over Kazuki’s side profile. 

Another exhale.

“Does it really help?” He asked meekly, immediately wishing to take the desperate words back as soon as they’d left his mouth.  

The clicking sound of fingers over the keyboard immediately stopped at the question.

“Um,” Kazuki swallowed audibly, “Yeah–’course it does, I’ll um…I’ll get out of your hair,” he finished, moving to get up and give Rei some privacy. 

A hand locking tight around his wrist kept him rooted to his spot on the bed.

Rei was facing him now, eyes wide in the dark of the room as he stared at him with unbridled anxiety swimming in the stormy depths. 

“Wait–” he pleaded, barely audible. 

Kazuki’s eyebrows had shot up in surprise, and he stared back with an equally imploring gaze.

“You okay?” He asked, tone concerned.

“I don’t–I’ve never…done–that,” Rei finally managed to choke out, his heart racing in his chest. 

The silence left hanging between them was awkward at best, and Rei was rapidly wishing that he’d just be gunned down right about now just to avoid the situation that he’d crafted. 

“I–I could…teach you.”

“What?”

Kazuki cleared his throat and steeled himself to explain, “I could teach you, how to–yeah.”

Rei’s jaw parted in disbelief. Surely Kazuki couldn’t mean–

“O-only if you want to, I mean. Just–it would probably help…” 

It was silent again, stretching out agonizingly slow before Rei managed to jumpstart his brain back into action and he could utter out a response. 

“...yes. Let’s do it,” he agreed, that long-dormant thing inside of him rising to the surface under the attention of the only alpha he’d ever felt this way for. 

The acceptance seemed to unlock something in Kazuki, and his crimson gaze went from shell-shocked to determined in a matter of seconds. He nodded, and settled down in the nest once more, side-by-side with the nervous omega. 

Rei released his hold on the blonde’s wrist and let his body sink back into the softness below him, his head tilted sideways to give Kazuki his full undivided attention. He could hear his own heartbeat in his ears, and the staccato rhythm made him feel alive in a way that even the most dangerous of missions had failed to do. 

“I’m gonna take this off, okay?” Kazuki pulled at the hem of his own sweater, following through with the action when Rei offered no protest. 

Without being asked, Rei shuffled to remove his clothes too, shielded by the safety of the blankets and bed covers on top of him. He kicked his sweatpants and underwear down with ease, and Kazuki helped him with his shirt when it got stuck over his head. The thickest of the blankets got pushed away next, until there was a single layer remaining.

Rei hesitated when all that was left covering him was the thin topsheet, the crawling sensation settling back into his bones at the thought of Kazuki seeing his naked body. On a normal day, it wouldn’t have bothered him, the nudity; they’d been partners for years and sometimes that entailed being too familiar with each other during stakeouts or long-range missions that offered no chance for privacy. But now, laying there vulnerable and trusting, in heat, he felt every bit like the confused and scared child he’d once been under his father’s roof. 

Sensing his discomfort, Kazuki smiled softly in that fatherly ‘everything will be fine’ way of his and reached over to tug the sheet up higher until it was tucked just underneath the omega’s chin. Once he made sure that Rei was comfortably reclined against the pillows stacking the nest, Kazuki shuffled closer and sat close enough for their thighs to just barely brush against each other, his body equally reclined on the squishy mound near the headboard. 

“This still okay?” The alpha asked, not a hint of trepidation in his comforting tone.

Rei tilted his head to catch his gaze briefly before his cheeks pinkened and he looked away. He nodded slightly, his thin brows pinched together.

“Good. That’s good,” Kazuki took a deep breath like he was trying to calm himself. Rei couldn’t understand why; the alpha was so confident, so eager and willing to help someone even as broken as himself. 

“I’m gonna get it out now–”

“I’m not a child,” Rei snapped, his hackles rising.

He didn’t want to, but he couldn't help his tone. The pain was getting worse and he already felt like an invalid for even needing help to this extent, in this way, and any attempts to beat around the bush from the blonde only served to piss him off more. 

It was silent between them before Kazuki let out a small huff, the sound more fond than exasperated. 

“I know you aren’t,” he finally whispered, and his head turned to seek out the omega’s gaze fruitlessly.

Rei was determined not to look at his face, his eyes were trained unwaveringly at the foot of the bed as he waited for the blonde to continue with what he’d offered.

Knowing that was the end of it, Kazuki reached down to unbuckle his belt, the clinking of the metal buckle and the loud zip of his fly deafening in the otherwise quiet room. Silence was a rare thing these days, and though he would normally crave it, the weight of it settled heavily on Rei’s chest as his heart rate increased with each of the alpha’s movements.

It didn’t take long for Kazuki to get himself fully out in the open. Rei swallowed quietly as he stared openly at the blonde’s cock. He was an adult, he’d seen grown alpha dick before; whether it be in an onsen to complete a hit when the target is most vulnerable or that of the perverts of the dark underworld flashing themselves to what they thought was a defenseless omega before being relieved of said appendage with the swipe of a sharp blade. 

He wasn’t ignorant to what an alpha should look like. But seeing it this close, in this context, having full trust in the man it was attached to–Rei was instantly filled with a sense of anxiety. That, and something new and unfamiliar writhing in the pit of his stomach. 

Kazuki’s was certainly nicer than that of the disgusting pigs he’d encountered in the past. It was lengthy and thick, proportionate to the blonde’s athletic build. He was already half-hard, Rei noted, the shaft slowly thickening where it rested against his lower abdomen. Kazuki had his hand wrapped loosely around the base, but all Rei could stare at was the flushed-pink tip, at how the slit at the crown was oozing a thin stream of clear precum that dripped down to land underneath his navel. 

The blonde let him stare a bit longer, giving him time to back out before they even started if he decided to. Without any objection, Kazuki slowly dragged his hand up his cock, letting the arousal already simmering in his hips to take over so that he could demonstrate for Rei. Definitely not for his own satisfaction, this was for Rei, not to fan the flames of the torch he’d been carrying for the omega for the better part of a year. . .

“Hold yourself. Like this,” Kazuki instructed, his palm cradling the midsection of his shaft.

Rei sucked in a shaky breath to calm himself and did as he was told, his arm shifting beneath the sheet to where he was stiff and leaking against his hip. He was unpractised in the act, and he felt awkward as he curled his fingers around the heated flesh. However, the flash of pleasure up his spine was undeniable, and he exhaled sharply through his nose.

“Are you hard?” Kazuki asked quietly, gently.

Indigo eyes cut to the alpha sharply and the blonde blushed and averted his gaze.

“Yeah, ‘course you are–sorry,” he laughed awkwardly before biting his lower lip and looking back down into his own lap.

At the reminder, Rei shivered as another ache of unsatisfied heat rippled through his body. He’d been hard without relief for hours now, among other things. Ever since Kazuki had come home and made a quick exit with Miri in tow to stay at Kyutaro’s, his body had betrayed him in favor of letting his cycle run rampant and unchecked for the first time in his life. 

“I like to start at the top. It’s most sensitive right here,” Kazuki demonstrated by gliding his hand up to rub his index finger along the underside of the crown.

He flinched at his own touch, the combination of the physical stimulation and Rei’s watchful gaze sending a flicker of unparalleled desire throughout his body. 

Rei observed silently as the alpha continued to stroke at the same spot, his eyes tracking the way more precum oozed down from the slit as he worked himself over. His grip around his own cock unconsciously tightened as he watched, and a small noise slipped out of his lips in response to the flare of something jolting through his body. 

Mirroring the alpha’s movements, Rei let his fingers wander up to the tip of his length. At the first touch, his body jerked at the sheer sensitivity of the action, unused nerves alighting for the first time and halting his progress briefly. He could take stab wounds, bullet injuries, and physical torture without batting an eye, but one touch to his leaking cockhead and he felt like he was about to unravel at the seams. 

“You’re okay,” Kazuki offered quietly.

Rei sucked in a shaky breath and mustered up the courage to meet the alpha’s gaze. Kazuki was looking right back with just as much focus, his expression guarded but eyes warm. The dimness of the room made his normally scarlet eyes look maroon, and Rei found himself staring into the inviting depths for longer than necessary before shifting his attention back to where Kazuki was slowly stroking himself.

Under the sheet, Rei reached for himself again, his fingers curling around the length and his thumb resting lightly against the tip. His eyes fluttered a bit when he swiped over the wetness leaking out and dragged it down the rest of the veined shaft. The sensation was entirely alien, but he couldn’t deny that it felt unbelievably right. 

Noticing the change in his expression, Kazuki huffed out a small content sound and a smile cracked across his face when Rei looked over at the noise. 

“Keep going, just like that,” he encouraged, his hand moving a little faster now on his own stiff length, “do what feels right.” 

With his eyes trained on the movements of Kazuki’s hand, Rei explored himself without hesitation. His fingers glided up and down the length of his cock, making note of which places made the heat between his legs flare brighter. Kazuki was right, the small divot underneath the leaking crown was nearly too sensitive for him to touch, though he didn’t know if that was due to the heat alone or a lifetime of no contact cranking his sensitivity up to the maximum. 

As his eyes closed, Rei became more aware of the sounds of their deep breaths filling the silence of the minimal space between them. His own were louder, shakier and more shallow, but Kazuki was not far behind, the frequency of his exhalations through his nose increasing the longer he worked himself over. He could feel the heat of the alpha’s clothed thigh against his side through the sheet, and the warmth was a welcome feeling to keep him grounded in reality. 

He felt good, in a way that he’d never experienced before. Yet, the more he touched himself, the more the unrelenting pulse of heat spreading out from his abdomen started shifting from initial satisfaction to a quickly growing sense of frustration. Hearing the way that Kazuki was reacting, how the wet sound of his hand gliding along his cock grew louder and faster the closer he got to completion, Rei figured the problem must be himself. Determined to follow through and desperate for relief now that he’d gotten a taste of pleasure, he kept going, increasing his speed and adjusting his grip to target the places that felt best. 

Kazuki was making small noises in the back of his throat next to him, and Rei’s eyes cut to where he was stroking himself quickly with a practiced hand, his crimson gaze deadlocked on the omega. Even without experience, Rei knew that the alpha was getting close. His eyebrows were drawn together and his cheeks were flushed pink from exertion; the sight only frustrated Rei more, he could feel the pressure building but it just wasn’t enough.  

“Kazuki–It’s not. . .it’s not working, I can’t –not enough–” Rei gasped, his own expression pinched in annoyance. 

Without hesitation, Kazuki slowed his own movements until he was just holding himself still against his abdomen, his chest still slightly heaving from being so close to completion. His breaths were loud in the quiet room but he looked at Rei completely unbothered and unashamed, his eyes glowing with determination as he looked back at him through the dim light. 

He swallowed audibly before nodding slightly. His amber gaze flicked briefly down to where Rei had a hand around himself, hidden by the sheet, before coming back up to connect with stormy blue. 

“Use your other hand too,” the blonde suggested carefully, “lower down,” he clarified. 

Rei’s breath caught in his throat and his hand froze where it was wrapped around the length of his cock. He’d spent most of his life ignoring that part of himself, the one that he’d grown up believing was shameful and not to be spoken of or interacted with. Beyond maintaining basic hygiene and mandated medical checkups, he’d all but forgotten about the anatomy inclusive to his secondary gender. 

With Kazuki staring at him so intently, his stomach was tied in knots, but he felt assured in his actions for the first time in his life and he moved to do as instructed. His other hand crept lower between his legs, and he sucked in a small gasp when his fingertips made contact with wet flesh. 

After nearly a full day stewing unfulfilled in heat, he was positively soaked. Exploring farther, he kept going with shaky fingers. It was unbelievably hot, scorching even, and the soft folds parted easily to the tiny bit of pressure he applied to the area, slipping deeper into the mess until the pads of his fingers came to rest over his quivering hole. He was suddenly able to place the odd feeling that had been plaguing him since the heat began, one that he had never felt before but was becoming increasingly apparent as his cunt clenched repeatedly around nothing– emptiness.

“How does it feel?” Kazuki’s imploring voice brought him hurtling back to reality, and Rei turned his head to avert his gaze, cheeks flaming. 

“. . .slimy.”

It was silent for all of half a second before Kazuki’s laughter exploded throughout the bedroom. Rei frowned at the noise, but just when he was about to snap at Kazuki to knock it off the blonde released another humorous noise before replying.

“I think the word you’re looking for is slick,” the alpha corrected, swiping at an invisible tear on his own face. 

At the look plastered on the omega’s face when he turned back around, Kazuki stifled his outburst and scrambled to make amends.

“C’mon, you were asking for that one. Who describes genitals as slimy?” His smile was bright even in the dim light of the room, like he knew Rei couldn’t stay mad at him when he was so clearly in the right.

The alpha was right, of course, and Rei pointedly rolled his eyes before settling his gaze back on the ceiling and waiting for further instructions. 

He could feel Kazuki’s stare on him for a moment longer, checking to see that he was truly not hurt by the comment, before he heard the wet sounds of the blonde’s hand moving slowly on his own cock again as the tension dissipated between them once more.

“You can–you can try getting one inside, to start,” he offered, voice shakier than it had been since they’d started.

Rei’s eyes fell closed again, and a small crease developed between his eyebrows.

“You don’t have t–”

“I want to,” Rei cut him off, “I want to do it.”

With his confession fresh out in the open, Rei’s touch explored farther. The tip of his middle finger prodded at the edge of his dripping hole, and he forced himself to relax as he delved deeper. The digit slipped in surprisingly easy, gliding inside along slick-wet and arousal-loosened walls that hugged it in a throbbing embrace. It didn’t feel like what he thought it would, it wasn’t instantly satisfying, nor was it painful. Just odd, but somehow also right in a way that he couldn’t describe even to himself. 

Kazuki quietly encouraged him to stroke at his cock again, which he did without question. The instant spark of pleasure it brought only served to reignite the burning inferno in his pelvis, and he involuntarily shivered at the sensation. He could feel more wetness dribble out around his finger as his cunt clenched down wantonly, his body begging for more. 

Without a second thought, he slowly pulled his finger back out only to replace it with a second, his middle and ring fingers sinking together into his warm hole easily. The stretch was a welcome change, and Rei’s breath left him in a shaky exhale as his eyes fluttered open again, glassy with newfound pleasure. The change served to sooth the demanding gnawing of his heat, and the hand around his slick cock sped up. 

“Feels good, huh?” Beside him, Kazuki’s question came out breathy, the alpha chasing his own completion as Rei explored himself.

“Keep going just like that, find a rhythm you like and– ah –stick with it,” Kazuki offered, his eyes locked firmly on the omega as he fucked his hand.

It did feel good. It felt unbelievably, unfathomably good, to the point where Rei felt like his nerve endings would burn right off after each delicate touch. It was like scratching an itch he didn’t know he had, his body singing like a fine tuned instrument even under unskilled hands. The sound his fingers made gliding in and out of his cunt was obscene, but he couldn’t even be bothered to care when it felt so good. 

Kazuki piped up to suggest that he crook his fingers, tilting the pads of them up against the underside of his navel and oh. The burst of stars behind his eyelids at the action forced the first small moan past his lips, and he kept aiming for that same spot, fingers working relentlessly in tandem to wring out pleasure he never knew could be possible. 

The growing heat in his hips blazed into a fever pitch, and he felt like he was toeing the line of falling over the edge into ecstasy. He felt like a frayed rope about to snap, and his body shook as he kept working himself over, warm fingers gliding over slick-wet skin running on instinct alone. 

“K-Kazuki–it’s…I–” he stuttered, eyes pinching tightly shut as he got closer and closer to release.

Rei had never felt this good in his entire life, the ache within growing and growing until he felt like he would evaporate into thin air, floating away on a cloud of bliss. The pressure was immense, and he nearly sobbed as he climbed higher and higher. It was overwhelming in the best way possible, and it made him feel vibrant, spirited, and alive. It was the most natural thing in the world, and with a few more targeted thrusts and strokes, he was there.

His orgasm ripped through every cell in his body, endorphins rushing out to every limb and locking them up in a frozen state of euphoria. Around his fingers, his cunt clamped down tight and vice-like, pulsing through wave after wave of pleasure as his cock spurted warm and wet onto his stomach. Distantly, he was half-aware of the sounds spilling out of his parted lips, mewls of satisfaction and shaky gasps filling the air as he rode out the tidal wave of sensation. 

It could have been minutes or hours that he was floating in the bubble of newfound release, and when he finally came down completely from the high he took stock of his body and surroundings. His toes had curled up as he came, and he flexed the muscles in his legs to work out the slight cramp that had come from the locked-up position. He pulled his fingers out of his spent hole with a slight grimace, the gush of slickness following their removal spilling between his parted thighs onto the nest below. 

Beside him, Kazuki had gone quiet, and Rei turned his head to take in the sight of the alpha sprawled out atop the covers. He had come too, likely when Rei was completely gone and unreactive in the throes of pleasure. The evidence of his release was spilled shiny and thick across his abdomen, and a deep instinct within Rei rumbled in satisfaction at the alpha’s pleased scent. 

Kazuki caught him staring and tipped his head back against the headboard, eyes shining with mirth. 

“That was–that was really good, huh?” He whispered, expression dopey and relaxed. 

Rei sucked in another shaky breath, his pulse still hammering in his throat as he nodded back in agreement.

“Sit tight, I’ll get us something to clean up,” Kazuki said, quickly scrambling out of the room towards the bathroom.

He didn’t even have time to process a single thought before the alpha was back with a wet rag in-hand, which he held out for Rei to use first. The omega slipped a hand out from underneath the sheet to accept it without question, and winced when fabric dragged against oversensitive skin. He cleaned himself up to the best of his ability and passed the rag to Kazuki who used the other side to wipe his own mess off of his stomach. 

With both of them now as clean as they could be without full baths, the silence that hung in the air was palpable and full of unresolved tension. Kazuki was the first to break the quiet of the room.

“I can go sleep on the couch if you–”

“Stay.”

Chapter Text

A soft knock on the door roused Rei from the half-awake state he was fighting. He rolled over with a small groan and buried his face deeper into the chaos that was the nest on Kazuki’s bed. The knocking continued until he mumbled a barely audible response into the softness of the fabrics under his cheek.

“Hey, how’s it going in here?” Kazuki asked, his head peeking around the cracked open door. 

Rei lifted his head just enough to send a glare towards the alpha before dropping down against the covers once again. 

He was beyond exhausted, and not any closer to getting over the heat that had been wreaking havoc on his body for the last couple of days. It was as if all of the years of stifling his nature had come back to bite him in the ass, and now he was facing the consequences. He’d been in near constant pain for the last three days, popping painkillers like they’re candy at Kazuki’s insistence and spending most of the day sleeping off the ache in his bones. 

Not to mention the near constant state of arousal that’s been plaguing most of his waking hours. 

After that first time a couple of days ago, Kazuki had mostly left Rei to his own devices to sort himself out in private. Rei’s cheeks flamed at the memory of practically forcing the alpha to stay with him after they were done, which he did happily if only to soothe the emotions of the heating omega. But, ever since then, Kazuki would mainly hang around while Rei was sleeping, continuing to work on their upcoming case and attending to anything he may need as soon as he woke up.

Well, all except for one thing. 

It was frustrating, to say the least. Rei had been appreciative at first, still wholly embarrassed from the vulnerability of that first time, but with time he began to realize just how much he missed the blonde’s presence when the heat between his legs blazed to nearly unbearable heights. At the first sign of uncomfortable squirming, Kazuki would stutter out an excuse and make himself scarce, leaving Rei alone to deal with another wave of heat by himself.

In the beginning, it wasn’t terrible. Using what Kazuki had taught him and with now infinite time to explore himself further, it had actually been nice to forget all of the real world issues and just feel.

Once he’d tired himself out, Kazuki would always come back and take care of him, forcing water down his throat to replace lost fluids and wiping him down as best as he could without removing him from the safe space that was his nest. Yeah, all in all it had been okay, that was, until recently Rei had been having more trouble slaking his lust all by himself.

It was especially difficult in the last day or so. No matter how long he touched himself, or which places he paid the most attention to, it was becoming harder and harder to get there. Especially over the course of the morning; he’d had to resort to burying his face in Kazuki’s pillow, desperately fucking himself on shaky fingers and rutting down into the blankets soaked in the alpha’s scent to finally come. It was the only way he could bring himself to completion, and even that had barely been enough the last time.

Not to mention how even getting off multiple times in a row barely did anything to satisfy the ache beneath his navel. If anything he felt worse off and more unsatisfied than ever after each time, longing for something he couldn’t quite comprehend that he needed. The only thing that managed to bring him out of the foggy slump of heat was Kazuki, even if he was still scared to admit it even to himself.

The alpha had been irreplaceable during the whole ordeal. Rei knew that if he’d been left alone from the beginning there was no way he’d even be able to make it out of the bathtub, let alone be able to feed or bathe himself, and he was undeniably grateful to him for that. However, the proximity had forced him to come to terms with his own broken emotions that he’d been harboring for the older man. 

Rei wasn’t good at connecting with others, he’d been raised in near social isolation so it was a miracle he could stand as much as it took to raise a child anyway. Even without Miri around to worm her way into his personal space, he still managed to feel sick over the newfound sentiments blooming in his chest. 

And Kazuki’s smiling face certainly wasn’t making anything easier.

Opening the door fully, Kazuki stepped into the room and walked closer to sit the tray of food down on the end of the bed. With great effort, Rei pushed himself up into a sitting position and winced when the wet mess between his legs became all too apparent in the new position. Kazuki noticed his grimace and handed him a damp rag from the food tray.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, reaching under the pile of covers to clean himself as best as he could manage. 

He knew that he must look a mess, dark hair askew and skin glistening with a thin sheet of sweat, heat settled into his pores. Thankfully Kazuki didn’t comment, and simply took the used rag back in exchange for a bowl of the omega’s favorite sugary cereal. He’d been doing that without fail, in the time that he’d been playing the caretaker alpha role. Rei knew that normally he would get after him for his appearance and personal hygiene, especially when it came to setting a good example for Miri, and he almost never allowed as many sweet unhealthy foods as he had in the last few days, usually reserving them for celebrating small achievements as a family. 

But he’d been hard-pressed to say no to Rei, not with the way his mouth curved down into a frown with each new painful cramp and his scent spilled out pleading for help in the way he couldn’t manage to do with his own mouth. And spending the time catering to his every need especially proved fruitful in avoiding the discussion about what had happened between them a few days ago. Not that Rei was bursting at the seams to bring it up, if Kazuki could pretend like it didn’t happen then so could he, and save both of them the embarrassment. 

He only hoped that things could go back to normal and the awkwardness between them could dissipate with the disappearance of his heat. 

“I’ve been talking to Kyu, Miri sent this for you,” Kazuki looked at his phone with hearts in his eyes before passing it to Rei. 

Balancing his bowl on his knee, Rei took the device and tapped the play button on the screen. Miri’s face was right in the camera, her big amber eyes staring intently until she realized it was already recording and she backed up a bit to show off her outfit. Her hair was adorned with the kitty ears Rei had ordered her from Rakuzon, and dark lines were drawn across her cheeks for whiskers. 

In her hands was a drawing of the two of them, on the swings at the park by the look of the shaky squiggly lines. There were multicolored hearts and stickers placed all over, and she thrusted the page closer to the camera before singing him a song she had learned in daycare. It was short and sweet, and Rei found himself smiling by the end before handing the phone back to Kazuki with a soft feeling in his heart. 

“She really misses you, Kyu said she keeps asking if you feel better,” Kazuki smiled down at the thumbnail of the video before pocketing his phone. 

Rei looked down at his lap and thumbed at the edge of his spoon.

“Yeah, I feel bad. Probably traumatized her or something being out of it like that in front of her,” he mumbled, eyes not leaving the soggy bits of cereal floating around his bowl.

Kazuki made a surprised sound and shook his head resolutely. 

“It’s not like you could help it, if anything I think little Miri stepped up to the challenge–taking good care of her Papa like that.”

Rei tilted his head up at the comment, peering through his disheveled bangs to catch Kazuki’s warm gaze. He could feel his heart flutter and start to beat harder at the eye contact, but he forced himself to swallow it down. 

“None of this is your fault, okay?” He asked gently, crimson eyes blazing.

Rei was frozen under that intense stare, his pulse hammering in his throat. Eventually, he nodded slightly before going back to swirling the soggy cereal around his bowl with his spoon. 

Apparently Kazuki could tell that he wouldn’t be able to get much more out of Rei, and he let the matter drop entirely. After taking their dishes back to the kitchen, Kazuki once again returned to his bedroom to help Rei get comfortable until another wave of heat separated them. He helped him into fresh clothes, even when Rei complained that they’d just get dirty again soon anyway, and replaced the worst of the soiled blankets in the nest with ones he’d laundered earlier. 

Rei thought it was shameful to be coddled like a child when he was a grown adult, but he couldn’t argue with the tiny dormant feeling in the back of his mind that marveled at the attention. He was used to people doing things for him, doing his laundry and cooking his meals; but those had just been paid services to keep him functioning as a perfectly maintained assassin. 

Kazuki didn’t take care of him and Miri for a paycheck, he did it because he genuinely cared about them, and he wanted the best for them. Rei had come to terms with that long ago, and had shown his appreciation much more lately out of respect for the alpha, but it was evident now that he was basically helpless holed up in Kazuki’s room. He felt invasive, no matter how much Kazuki reassured him he was just happy that Rei hadn’t commandeered the tub for his heat. 

With everything cleaned up and sorted, Kazuki helped him lie down and get comfortable as exhaustion settled heavy in his limbs once more. The bouts of heat had recently gotten closer together, like the continued dissatisfaction rolled over into the next wave and forced him to suffer through it all over again. 

The rest was welcome, at least, and he didn’t fight Kazuki as he covered him with softness and sat himself beside him in the bed. The sound of the alpha’s fingers tapping away on computer keys lulled him to sleep quickly. 

.

.

.

.

Only a few hours later, Rei was awake and in absolute agony. 

He was frustrated, and on the brink of tearing his own hair out if he couldn’t find relief soon. It was going on an hour since he woke up with another wave of heat blazing through his system, and he was nearly at his breaking point. 

No amount of touching, stroking, or fucking himself was working. It wasn’t enough, and he was on the verge of tears out of pure desperation. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly and tried his best to let his mind wander to something that could help, faceless alphas and their fat dripping cocks. It should be what any omega would want in heat, but the fantasy only turned him off more. He didn’t want just any alpha, he’d come to terms with that fact of his preferences at least in the last few days. 

The only one he really wanted, had ever wanted, was Kazuki. 

Thinking about the blonde only made things worse, his scent was everywhere, this was his bedroom for fucks sake. Instead of comforting him like it had in the beginning, it only served to remind Rei that he wasn’t actually with him, and that he was fruitlessly grinding against the scent of him in the nest to no avail. 

He barely registered that his own mouth was open before the words were slipping out, his voice strained.

“Kaz– Kazuki!”

It was barely a second later that he heard footsteps on the stairs and the doorknob twisted with a creak.

“Done alrea– oh.” 

Kazuki’s eyes were blown wide in shock when Rei managed to lift his head off of the bed. He could practically smell the alpha’s trepidation from the doorway, though his unsureness didn’t quite manage to stifle the underlying notes of arousal surely triggered by Rei’s heat. Biological response or not, the scent of him immediately sent another painful shiver down the omega’s spine and his head dropped pitifully to the nest again.

“Rei, I–”

“Kazuki –I can’t, it won’t stop–I can’t–” 

Rei could hear the desperation in his own voice, but he couldn’t bring himself to care when everything he’d ever wanted was standing within reach. 

Kazuki was still frozen where he stood by the door, his eyes locked on Rei’s half-lidded gaze. An uncomfortable seed of anxiety was threatening to climb up the back of the omega’s throat the longer the silence between them stretched on. He knew that he was no prize, no one’s first choice, but he was desperate, and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what he wanted. 

“Kazuki,” he whispered, glassy eyes boring into the alpha and trying to convey every ounce of need rippling through his naked body. 

The plea seemed to knock the blonde out of his shocked state, and he stumbled to the edge of the bed, wide eyes never leaving Rei’s as he moved closer. He came to a stop at the corner of the mattress and sank to his knees on the floor, his hands grasping at the edge of the nest in a white-knuckled grip. 

For the first time in years of working and living together, Kazuki was speechless, his jaw slightly slack and face frozen in passive shock. Despite the alpha usually wearing his heart on his sleeve, Rei was unable to get a read on him, and the building ache of heat certainly wasn’t helping to keep his mind sharp in the moment.

“...please–” he forced out, the words foreign on his tongue, “–help me.”

Kazuki stared for another few seconds, his eyes churning with a myriad of emotions, before he nodded slowly and his gaze fell to his own hands on the edge of the nest. He drew in a deep breath and Rei watched his eyebrows pull together before he tilted his head up once more, red eyes shining with determination. 

“Okay– okay,” he replied.

Rei let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, the utter relief in hearing those words overtaking his senses and dulling the urgency of heat for the moment. He’d reached his limit, and he only hoped that Kazuki wouldn’t pity him too much over the shameful display. 

Another shaky breath from the alpha and he was rising from the floor and crawling into the disarrayed nest, careful so as not to jostle Rei where he was sprawled out in a boneless heap across the length of the structure. Rei could feel nervous goosebumps break out along his skin at the alpha’s proximity, but something dormant inside of him was forcing him to relax, reminding him that this wasn’t just any alpha, this was Kazuki, and nothing bad would happen to him as long as the blonde was by his side. 

“Are you sure this is what you want? I-I can make some calls or–fuck, I don’t know–are you really sure you want me to help?” Kazuki asked, the waves of anxiety rolling off of him threatening to make Rei’s nose wrinkle if he didn’t cut it out. 

“I mean, this is your first heat and I’m just–”

“Kazuki–” Rei cut him off with a harsh glare, as scary as he could manage despite feeling like a wrung-out rag, “–I only want you, don’t make me ask again… please.”

The confession was bitter on his tongue, not used to expressing his needs and wants and definitely unaccustomed to asking for help in any aspect of his life. Let alone something so embarrassing and humiliating as being unable to get himself off while in the throes of heat. 

Clearly at a loss for words from such an unexpected revelation from the normally withdrawn omega, Kazuki simply snapped his mouth closed and nodded slightly again. He swallowed audibly before scooting closer to reach out and nervously rearrange the blankets closest to him in the nest. 

“Okay, I hear you–I’m here,” Kazuki agreed, his features softening once the reality of their situation sank in.

Rei’s eyes tracked the blonde’s flustered movements, still feeling too weak to make any movements on his own. He was still lying in the same position he’d given up in, face down and slack-limbed in the nest. The longer Kazuki stared at him the more aware he became of the ache between his legs, and an involuntary sound slipped out of the back of his throat, prompting the alpha to hurry along. 

Kazuki helped him roll over onto his back, and he reached out to swipe his damp dark hair away from his face. Rei didn’t say anything at the action, but he definitely felt the way his cheeks flushed hot with the way the blonde let his thumb rest there for a moment, swiping gently at the darkness under his eye. 

“C’mon, I want you to be comfortable, okay?” Kazuki moved to the side and carefully maneuvered the omega until he was lying with his head on the pillows near the headboard.

Rei winced at the feeling of the fabrics in the nest dragging against his oversensitive skin, but he tried his best to conceal his irritation; he was tougher than this, had endured far worse, and he would be damned if something as trivial as a scratchy shirt took him out. Kazuki noticed immediately, the attentive little shit, and he quickly removed the offending article beneath Rei’s hip and replaced it with the corner of a much softer blanket they usually kept on the back of the couch. 

Not willing to debase himself any further, Rei tried to impart his growing irritation with his eyes alone, and Kazuki obviously got the message based on the dopey grin that stretched across his face. With the air of unease finally settled between them, Rei could already feel himself begin to relax minutely, assured in the fact that Kazuki would know what to do. 

The alpha leaned closer, his arm propping him up above Rei where he was reclined in the nest. 

“I have an idea,” he whispered, his eyes suddenly very serious but swimming with his signature warmth. 

Rei nodded and forced himself to remain open for whatever the alpha had planned, as much as he preferred to do things his way most of the time such as on dangerous missions, he knew when to admit his inexperience and let someone else take the lead. He could hit a mark from three thousand meters away with a sniper rifle but he was ignorant when it came to knowing what his own body needed during heat. 

It should have been humiliating, would have been, were it anyone else seeing him this way other than Kazuki. 

Another nod from Kazuki and the alpha shifted to sit between his parted legs, his hands a welcome comfort on Rei’s knees. He could feel the warmth radiating off of the blonde’s larger body, and for the first time in his life Rei fought back against the voices in his head telling him that he didn’t deserve to be treated so kindly. 

He wanted the ache of his heat to disappear first and foremost, but more than anything he just wanted Kazuki. He was tired of denying himself, he wanted to be happy.

“Tell me if you don’t like something,” Kazuki whispered, his eyes roving over the sprawl of Rei’s naked body and getting darker by the second. 

Rei nodded again, though Kazuki had already averted his gaze to the space where his thighs were splayed open between them. He was completely vulnerable and spread open for the alpha to see, but the weight of Kazuki’s gaze was that of a well-loved blanket, comforting and solid. 

As his stare tracked lower so did his position, and Kazuki carefully moved Rei’s legs until they had a slight bend in his knees, spread apart far enough for the alpha to sit fully in between them and move closer. With the proximity, Rei could feel his body’s reaction to the alpha’s presence, and his face flushed red as another gush of slick trickled down between his thighs to further saturate the nest with his desperate scent. 

He could see the way Kazuki’s eyes tracked the action, and the alpha’s pupils grew as he took in the view.

Not wasting any more time, Kazuki settled himself down comfortably on his stomach between the splay of Rei’s thighs, and he gently coaxed them farther apart with a warm hand behind the curve of each knee. Rei’s fingers dug into the blankets, his grip white-knuckled in anticipation as he waited for the alpha to make his move. 

No one had ever been this close to him in such an intimate way, had ever looked at him with reverence instead of malice. The weight of crimson eyes on his scarred body was almost stifling, but Rei would gladly succumb to the pressure when it felt this good. 

The feeling of Kazuki’s breath against his flushed skin sent a shiver down Rei’s spine, and he shifted his hips impatiently to get closer to the sensation. The hours of unsatisfied heat were beginning to catch up to him all at once now that the shock of Kazuki’s presence was waning.

“Just relax, I’ll take care of you,” Kazuki whispered.

He dipped his head lower until he could nuzzle his face into Rei’s hip and press his nose into the cut of lithe muscle there. Rei let out an involuntary shaky breath as Kazuki moved from one hipbone to the next, ghosting his lips over the raised scars and surrounding him with that all-encompassing passionate warmth. He’d never given much thought to the many blemishes and silvery lines criss-crossing his body, and he couldn’t even remember a time where he wasn’t decorated with the blatant evidence of his survival. Kazuki treated them as if they were delicate, made of glass instead of connective tissue, holding him together by the seams and threatening to snap at one misstep. He kissed each one with adoration, forcing more of his affection deeper into the layers of Rei’s flesh until he was able to relax bit by bit, overcome with too many conflicting emotions swirling around in his chest. 

Kazuki’s touch was gentle, a concept foreign to the inexperienced omega. Unfamiliar, yes, but far from unwelcome. The more skin that was blessed by the alpha’s touch, the more Rei craved the attention. He was floating in uncharted waters, helpless but to accept that rescue was on the way.

Finally satisfied with the newfound slackness in Rei’s wound-tight body, Kazuki abandoned his path of chaste kisses in favor of shuffling lower between the crux of pale thighs. From between spread legs, Kazuki looked up at Rei with darkened eyes, forcing the younger man’s heart to race and flutter in the base of his throat. 

That look was both predatory and protective, like he wanted to devour Rei in one bite but if only to keep him safe and enclosed in the space between his heart and ribcage. The only terror Rei felt was in himself at knowing he would willingly offer himself up for the taking, anything to make the alpha happy and to continue to feel the euphoria of his presence. 

“You’re beautiful here,” Kazuki punctuated the praise with another small kiss to the space just below Rei’s navel. 

Rei shot him a disbelieving look, his thin eyebrows pulled together and jaw set stiffly.

“I mean it,” he pushed, his hands stroking along Rei’s skin firmly, like he could force the words right into all of his cracks until Rei accepted them as the truth.

He couldn’t accept the sentiment fully just yet, but Rei didn’t fight it when Kazuki nosed down the faint trail of dark hair leading south. Despite his heat-flushed fever, the blonde’s mouth was searing hot against his skin, and Rei let his head fall back heavy against the pillows to take it all in. 

His skin was on fire, the blaze intensifying at each press of Kazuki’s lips, and it reached a nearly unbearable temperature at the first press of a hot mouth against the base of his cock. He’d been hard and aching for hours, and the smallest touch was enough to send sparks of relief up his spine as he shivered in the alpha’s hold.

“Kazuki–” Rei gasped, his thighs flexing on either side of the alpha’s head. 

“Hey–” Kazuki’s voice was steady and reassuring, a sturdy anchor to battle the coastal storm whirring in Rei’s heart, “–I’ve got you.”

The effect was instantaneous, and Rei felt the last thread of doubt snap within his warring mind, the final piece holding him back crumbling and allowing him to give himself over to new experiences and sensations. He could have nice things, he deserved to feel good; and Kazuki was good, he was so good. 

Already anticipating Rei’s needs before he could even articulate them to himself, Kazuki continued to place blazing hot kisses along the length of his twitching shaft until he came to a stop at the dripping head, his bottom lip resting against the crown as he spoke quietly. 

“If you need to come, just let go. You don’t have to hold anything back,” he instructed, eyes alight even in the dimness of the room. 

Rei ran a tongue along his dry bottom lip and stared with wide-eyed wonder as Kazuki sucked the tip of his cock into his mouth. The feeling was instantly overwhelming, and Rei’s back arched off of the bed in shock, forcing himself deeper into the blonde’s warm mouth. 

Over the last few days, he’d become aware of the many pleasures the human body had to offer, but nothing could have prepared him for the feeling of this. Kazuki was only halfway down, but Rei felt like his entire body was enveloped from the top of his head to the end of his toes. His body was a livewire, and the blonde knew exactly how to make him unravel into a heap of tingling sensations.

One of Kazuki’s hands left Rei’s hip and reached out to tangle with the omega’s own fingers, squeezing tightly in reassurance as the raven shivered and twitched from the attention. Kazuki had told him to let go, to give himself over to pleasure without holding back, yet he never realized he could reach the precipice at such a hurtling pace. It had taken ten times longer for that tight coil of pressure to settle behind the curve of his pubic bone when he was on his own, but with Kazuki between his legs and laving his tongue over the leaking slit of his cock, he was already so close.  

Kazuki had only just swallowed him whole, the alpha’s throat sucking him in and squeezing tight, when Rei fell over the edge completely without warning. An embarrassing breathy sound fell out of his open mouth as his orgasm blindsided him, his muscles seizing up and hips bucking involuntarily as Kazuki worked him through it. The alpha’s hand held onto Rei’s the entire time, letting him squeeze his digits for reassurance as he slowly came down from bliss.

It was vastly different than any of the other times he’d brought himself to completion; with Kazuki’s touch on his skin and his scent filling his nose, he felt like he was floating in a sea of softness and comfort, completely engulfed in the tranquility of being cared for and being able to let go without fear. 

Rei was still panting softly when Kazuki pulled off, sucking him clean as he went and placing a soft kiss to the flushed tip when he was done and running his tongue along his lower lip to catch the last bead of cum.

 Despite sucking the soul out of Rei, Kazuki looked up at him from between his legs, his expression soft and eyes focused. 

“Still okay?” He questioned, his fingers giving Rei’s another gentle squeeze where they were interlocked. 

Too overwhelmed, Rei nodded in response. His body was thrumming off of the relief of his orgasm, yet the ache settled in his abdomen had refused to disappear. If anything, he still felt as though he was still waiting for the other shoe to drop, like something was missing from allowing him to rest without the craving for something.  

“Good,” Kazuki praised, his lips curving into a small smile.

“Do you want more?” He continued. 

Rei’s breath caught in his throat, and his heartbeat pounded loudly in his ears. He didn’t even have time for rational thought before his lips were parting to gasp out a response.

“Yes.” 

Kazuki’s smile deepened and he huffed out a small laugh before tilting his head to place a kiss to the inside of Rei’s thigh, the muscle there jumping under his soft touch. 

“Here–” Kazuki pulled Rei’s hand closer and let his slim fingers tangle in golden hair at the crown of the alpha’s head, “–you have control, okay? Just let yourself feel good, we’ll get you through this.”

Kazuki’s hair was soft between his fingers, and Rei held on tightly to try and ground himself in reality despite the intense ethereal sensations tugging against his spirit. 

Another warm press of lips to his skin and Rei was unraveling at the seams. His cock was still stiff and dripping where it laid against his stomach, unrelenting in heat despite coming mere moments ago, but Kazuki ignored the sensitive flesh in favor of nosing down lower between his spread thighs. The blonde urged Rei’s legs farther apart, one hand wrapped around the inside of each knee, until he was completely bared and open.

He was soaked between his legs, his skin flushed pink and raw from hours of unsatisfied self-pleasure. He was already alight with burning desire, but Kazuki’s touch only stoked the already raging flames licking at his nerve endings.

Rei could feel the ghost of Kazuki’s breath over his slick-wet heat, and his eyes squeezed shut tightly as his grip on the alpha’s hair tightened. The first press of a warm tongue had him nearly convulsing, canting his hips up off of the bed for more. 

“K-Kaz –ah–” 

His breath was stolen from his lungs, plucked right from his body by an invisible force and leaving him suspended in a burst of paralyzing sensation. Kazuki’s hands gripped tighter to the backs of his knees and pulled him apart farther, until his thighs were nearly flat against the nest. A lifetime of specialized training had kept him flexible, but Kazuki contorted him like he’d been doing it all of his life, pushing just up until the point before discomfort and holding him there on the edge. 

“You smell so good, Rei,” Kazuki groaned, digging his nose into the crease of the omega’s thigh and inhaling deeply.

“You smell like us,” the next part came quieter, nearly too soft for Rei to hear over the sound of his own panting gasps.

Another shaky exhale from Rei and Kazuki was diving back in wholeheartedly, his mouth settling warm and wet over the omega’s dripping cunt. Rei finally moaned when Kazuki licked him from the flush of his hole to the apex of his sex, doubling back to tease the tip of it between slick folds and press inside. 

It was unlike anything he’d ever felt, and Rei’s thighs twitched and shook as Kazuki pressed fully inside. Slick and so, so warm, the alpha’s mouth was a welcome balm over the pain of heat that had been plaguing him over the last few days. 

Kazuki was confident and assured in his actions, licking deep into Rei’s throbbing hole over and over while punctuating each thrust with open-mouthed kisses to the surrounding nerves. It only took a few well-placed laps to coax out another dribble of arousal-scented slick, and Kazuki pulled one of his hands away from Rei’s thigh to finger at the edge of the omega’s cunt. He was so unbelievably wet, the alpha’s finger glided in smoothly alongside his tongue, pressing deep into clenching walls. 

He only had to search for a couple of seconds until he’d found the spot that had Rei gasping out another choked-off moan, his eyes fluttering open and glassy with unshed tears. Another finger slipped in after the first, and Rei spasmed at the burst of pleasure that the stretch offered. Kazuki’s fingers were longer and thicker than his own, and he was finally starting to feel the instinctual satisfaction of being stuffed full to calm the blaze of his heat. 

Rei felt like he could truly combust at any moment, the ache of another orgasm building low in his hips and stuttering closer and closer to the edge of ecstasy. Kazuki curled his fingers to stroke at that blindingly euphoric spot against Rei’s pubic bone, and his grip in the blonde’s hair tightened to pull his face closer to where he was aching and starving for more. 

He was so close, mere moments from his peak, and Kazuki had explicitly told him not to hold back, but Rei felt like something was wrong. He was about to come, the tingling flare of heat nearly all-encompassing, but it still felt like a tease of what true release could feel like, like it would be more frustrating than satisfying unless he could have the unknown missing piece that he so desperately craved. 

“Kazu– ah– Kazuki!” Rei cried out, using all of his self-restraint to push the alpha away despite wanting him to stay between the spread of his thighs for the rest of eternity. 

The alpha stopped immediately, swiping away the mess around his mouth with the back of his hand and looking up at Rei with an expression filled with so much concern it was as if he'd been shot.

“Are you okay? Was it too much?” Kazuki asked, hastily moving to sit up and gently move Rei’s legs back into a more comfortable position between them. 

Rei was stunned, still struggling to catch his breath like he’d just ran an entire marathon in one go, but if he didn’t get the words out of his throat he would surely choke on them.

“N-no, it was–I just…I need–I want more,” he whispered, eyes flicking down to meet auburn depths, “I want more.”

Kazuki’s eyes closed briefly and his eyebrows knitted together, at war with himself while choosing his next words carefully. 

“Are you absolutely sure? It’s your first–”

“I’m sure,” Rei cut him off, his hands rushing up to squeeze at the alpha’s shoulders.

“You’re–you’re the only one I trust, Kazuki. I’ve only ever wanted you.”  

Kazuki opened his mouth, no words spilling out until his gaze dropped to Rei’s chest, purposefully avoiding eye contact as a despondent shadow settled over his face. 

“If it’s your heat–”

“It’s not–” Rei silenced him again, the once scared and lonely child in the dark of his mind finally forcing him into the light, “It’s not…just the heat. I wanted it before, too. I want you.”  

The confession hung between them, and Rei held his breath as he watched a flicker of hope flash across the alpha’s handsome face. His head tilted up, and a passion he’d never seen before blazed behind crimson irises, forcing air into Rei’s lungs with the force of their emotion.

“Rei…” Kazuki whimpered, eyes shining with wetness and relief. 

He composed himself quickly, stifling a small laugh and swiping at his eyes before nodding and leaning closer to the omega.

“Okay. Okay,” He smiled, bending down to rest their foreheads together and stroking up and down Rei’s sides with trembling hands. 

Rei’s fingers were still gripping tightly to the blonde’s shoulders, and he tugged at the threadbare t-shirt still clinging to golden skin, impatient and tired of depriving himself now that his true intentions were out in the open. Kazuki relented, dipping down so Rei could pull the garment up and over his head and toss it to the end of the bed to join the collection of carefully arranged clothes from both of their closets. His pajama pants went next, both of them working on untying the strings and pushing the elastic band down his legs until they were equally bare and exposed to each other. 

“Hurry,” Rei pulled him back down, his legs falling open without thought to bracket the alpha’s hips. 

Kazuki went easily, his breath fanning out warm and comforting against Rei’s neck as they settled in place together. They were completely flush against each other, Kazuki’s weight resting solid and reassuring over Rei’s body and making him feel cradled in a way that set his heart alight. One of Kazuki’s hands settled on Rei’s thigh, hiking it farther up his hip and holding it in place to keep him spread open. He was holding himself above Rei with his other arm, his hand slipping underneath the back of the omega’s neck to cradle his head and keep their gazes locked together. 

This close, the heat of the alpha’s body was driving Rei insane, and his hole clenched around nothing, forcing out more slick and giving away his unbridled desperation even more. 

“Relax for me,” Kazuki whispered, so close that their noses nearly touched.

The hand around Rei’s thigh left briefly to squeeze between them, and an instant later he could feel the blazing heat of the blonde’s cock resting against his sex. Kazuki was careful, he swiped the head of his length along the seam of Rei’s cunt, not to tease but to gather enough wetness between them to ease the first glide. Rei could handle many things, was forced to, with the hand life had dealt him, but Kazuki refused to treat him as anything other than a delicate glass figurine, meant to be coveted and maintained with the utmost care and respect. 

Nothing could have prepared Rei for the feeling of Kazuki pressing inside for the first time. He knew that it would be bigger than his fingers, but even just the tip pressing past his rim had him stretched wider than he thought possible. 

Even with the aid of heat making him slick-wet and arousal-lax enough to receive, the intrusion was jarring, and Rei sucked in a shaky breath before tilting his head to try and get a glimpse of their union between his thighs. 

“No,” Kazuki’s fingers in his hair gently tugged his head back to the pillow, trapping him there with the weight of his attentive gaze, “Eyes on me, okay? I’ve got you.” 

Rei trembled at the words and swallowed his pride, staring back up at Kazuki without shame and placing his full trust in the alpha to know what he needed most. Another moment passed between them as Kazuki searched his eyes for any trace of pain, and once he was satisfied in finding none he continued to press himself deeper into Rei’s welcoming heat. 

The stretch was immense, and Rei sucked in a sharp breath when Kazuki delved deeper, his eyes rolling back in his skull and a strained moan falling out of his lips when the full length of him finally settled completely in the tight grip of his cunt. The blonde’s hand came to rest against his thigh again, warm and solid and grounding as he stilled inside to let him adjust. 

Rei was bursting at the seams, full to the brim with nothing but thoughts of Kazuki, alpha, mine swimming through his head. 

It was a key sliding into a lock, a travel-worn ship coming home to port, two souls so battered and bruised entwining and yearning for affection. 

“Rei–” Kazuki gasped, equally overcome by the new connection between them. 

“Y-yeah– yeah,” Rei shivered, his body tingling and sparking with never before felt satisfaction.

Deep within, Kazuki’s cock was pressing into places that had Rei already losing his mind, and he wrapped his legs tighter around the alpha’s waist, encouraging him to move now that the shock had abated slightly. 

Struggling to hold himself back while being squeezed so well by the omega’s wet hole, Kazuki nodded and slowly pulled back out only to sink inside once more, forcing a shared moan out of both of them. Rei was completely at the alpha’s mercy, but there wasn’t an ounce of unease over the fact in his body. Giving himself over felt freeing, like he could finally take a breath after years of half-drowning underwater, and he welcomed the embrace of handing over the reins completely. 

Kazuki was clearly just as overwhelmed as Rei, but he was good at hiding it in favor of Rei’s needs coming first and foremost. He easily found a rhythm that was great for both of them, driving forward with powerful thrusts that left both of them speechless and gasping for breath. 

Rei felt completely engulfed in the alpha’s embrace, caged in by his larger body, filled to the brim with his cock, and surrounded by his scent that screamed arousal, adoration, affection.

It was entirely overwhelming, but in the best way possible. Every single one of his senses was full of nothing but Kazuki, and he was quickly losing himself to the pleasure of connection with each movement from the blonde. 

Kazuki gasped and tossed his head back a bit, the hand on Rei’s thigh digging in as he struggled to maintain his steady pace as his own orgasm approached. The action placed his mouth directly in Rei’s line of sight, and the omega was suddenly transfixed on the way his lips parted slightly to exhale shaky breaths from exertion. Kazuki’s tongue slipped out to dampen his lower lip, and Rei unconsciously mirrored the act as his eyelids drooped lower with hazy desire. 

He’s never kissed anyone, never been kissed either. The action never had any appeal to him before, but Kazuki had a way of making him feel things he’s never felt for anyone else in his entire life. He wanted everything the alpha had to offer, and a small noise squeaked out from the back of his throat as he let his wants and desires be known without shame. 

The sound grabbed Kazuki’s attention immediately, and he quickly took in Rei’s longing expression only to be trapped in his hypnotic beauty. His eyes were half-lidded and glassy, the blue of his irises looking nearly purple in the dim light of the room. Another spot-on thrust to his deepest erogenous zones had his lips falling apart, attracting Kazuki’s stare and setting the same train of thought on course in the alpha’s mind. 

Kazuki’s eyes flicked back up to Rei’s for half a second before he leaned down the few remaining inches between them to connect their mouths. 

The effect was instantaneous for Rei, the warm press of the alpha’s lips against his own causing the blaze of fire between his legs to flare hotter. He never anticipated a kiss to feel so good, to feel so right, but he never wanted it to end. He would gladly suffocate himself if it meant basking in the alpha’s embrace for as long as he wanted, comforted and coveted and totally captured in his touch. 

Kazuki shifted his position slightly, getting more leverage to fuck in even deeper as his tongue slipped out to prod at the seam of Rei’s lips. The raven yielded without thought, his jaw dropping to allow entrance which Kazuki accepted with a small groan. It was uncoordinated for the most part, Rei severely lacking in experience but making up for it with unbridled enthusiasm. Kazuki didn’t seem to mind, if anything he was just as sloppy, overwhelmed by the euphoria of cradling his omega in his arms and fucking deep inside, their mouths a mess of tangled tongues and panting shared gasps.

Kazuki was the first to pull away, resting his forehead against Rei’s as he trembled above him.

“Rei, I–I have to stop or I’m gonna– knot,” He bit into his own bottom lip to ground himself. 

Every sensation rippling through Rei’s body suddenly came to a staggering, screeching halt at the alpha’s warning. 

Knot. The missing piece. 

He was suddenly all too aware of what his body craved, and the ache of heat flared to life at the prospect of finally having his unrelenting desire satisfied after days of torture. Kazuki could offer him that relief, he could knot him, and finally calm the dynamic that he’d suppressed for so long. But more than that, Rei wanted him to. He wanted that ultimate connection, and he would do anything to get it. 

“No!” He cried, hands digging into Kazuki’s shoulders and keeping him close.

“I need it, Kazuki–I want it. I want you–”

Before he could debase himself any further, Kazuki captured his mouth with his own and poured every ounce of affection in his body into the kiss, effectively cutting off any higher thought as his eyes fluttered closed again. He could feel the alpha’s rhythm stuttering as he got closer to his own end, and a similar ache of tension spiraled up from deep within as his orgasm loomed closer. 

Kazuki pulled away again with another quick kiss to the corner of Rei’s mouth, and he dipped his head to bury his face in the curve of the omega’s neck.

“Rei, I–” He gasped, his breath hot against Rei’s skin.

Suddenly the blonde was sitting upright, balanced over Rei as he stopped moving completely and cradled his face in his comforting hands. 

“We need to move first, so you’re comfortable after,” He explained carefully, his thumb stroking along Rei’s cheekbone.

Rei nodded and let his legs fall slack again, his body practically boneless as Kazuki gently pulled out and rearranged them in the nest. 

He trusted Kazuki completely to do what was best, and he shivered in anticipation when the alpha rolled him over until he was laying on his side before sidling up behind him until their bodies were flush against one another. Kazuki had always been bigger than him, a little taller and much broader, but it was more pronounced than ever in this position, with the alpha’s chest pressing against his back and making him feel small in a way that had a pleased rumble vibrating from the center of his chest. 

“Relax for me,” Kazuki whispered into the nape of his neck, his hand sliding over Rei’s hip until he could grab at the muscle of his thigh to spread him apart once more. 

Rei felt the head of his cock prodding at his already fucked-open cunt again, and this time he slid in without resistance, the pair of them moaning loudly when he was fully seated to the base in one smooth glide. Kazuki found his pace again quickly, and he buried his nose into the back of Rei’s neck as his arms wrapped around him in a tight grip. 

Another moan was punched out of Rei’s mouth when Kazuki went deeper, and his hands fisted in the blankets of the nest as he was rocked back and forth from the force of the alpha’s thrusts. 

The pulsing heat in his core was becoming too much to hold back, and he tipped his head back as his back arched uncontrollably from aching bliss. Kazuki was so deep inside of him, filling him up to the point that he could feel him in his throat, and it was only getting better. 

It was obvious when Kazuki was about to come, his grip around Rei’s waist tightened and his pace faltered in favor of pushing in deeper and grinding without pulling out as far. Rei’s eyes rolled back in his head and his toes curled when he felt the first press of the alpha’s knot against his rim, the promise of untold euphoria right there for the tasting.

Kazuki moaned behind him, his mouth hot against Rei’s nape, sending another shiver of anticipation throughout his prone body. He knew a bite was beyond reason considering their situation, but Rei couldn’t stop his mind from wandering as he felt the knot begin to swell and stretch him to new limits between his legs. He was already so close to the precipice of release, the fullness of Kazuki’s cock alone enough to bring him to new heights of pleasure, but when the alpha’s hand moved from his waist to wrap around his leaking cock he nearly screamed at the touch. 

“Kazuki,” He whimpered, his features pinched with pleasure. 

With one final thrust, Kazuki shoved inside completely and his knot swelled with his orgasm, locking them into place and sending Rei into another dimension of ecstasy. The feeling was entirely earth-shattering, stretching him beyond his limits and finally, finally slaking the thirst of heat that had been tormenting him for days. 

He was so blindsided by relief and euphoria that he barely noticed his own orgasm washing over him, his core blazing with heat as he gushed around Kazuki’s cock and spilled wetly over his stomach and the alpha’s hand. Deep inside, he was surprised to feel the flood of warmth of the alpha’s release, and he unconsciously clenched around his knot, milking more of that feeling of connection for the two of them and forcing a small sound from both of their chests. 

As he slowly came down from the excitement of orgasm, Rei was suddenly very thankful for Kazuki moving them into the new position, as their previous one would have been difficult to maneuver once they were knotted together. Even the slightest shift of his hips had the knot tugging at the rim of his hole uncomfortably, and he could already feel the exhaustion seeping into his bones now that the raging inferno of heat had been doused. 

He was just about to ask Kazuki to reach for another pillow when a quiet sound behind him and a wet feeling on the back of his neck shocked him back into full alertness. 

“Kazuki?” He whispered, turning his head as much as he could but still unable to see the alpha’s face. 

“I’m fine, I just–” Kazuki’s voice was thick and strained, and a small sniffle followed his words.

He held Rei closer, arms wrapped tightly around his slim waist and tucking his legs over the omega’s to cover him completely with his body. Another trail of wetness dripped down the back of Rei’s neck, and he covered Kazuki’s arms with his own, returning his embrace.

“I never thought I’d get to feel like this again,” He choked out, nose buried in the longer hairs of Rei’s nape. 

“I love you, Rei.”  

The confession had Rei frozen in the alpha’s arms, but he quickly thawed with each warm breath puffing out against his neck, grounding him and reminding him of the swirl of new emotions that had been haunting him for the last few months. 

He was tired of denying himself happiness, he wanted to feel alive, and the only place he’d ever felt truly at peace was right there in Kazuki’s loving embrace. 

“I love you, Kazuki,” he confessed quietly, “You and Miri both, my real family.”