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spectral-devotee · 24 days ago

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Birds of a Feather

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Word count: 6.4k

Chapter 07: Threading

Summary:

Eda leaves the Alpha before things get more complicated and starts planning her next steps to make Hextech come to life, but before that she pays a visit to Sky to clear things up.

Jayce goes to Eda’s dorm room expecting to find her there. With no such luck, he sets out to find her, but not before leaving another letter for her to find telling her about their new partner and their upcoming trial.

Viktor starts reconnecting to his Alpha nature, finding a strange feeling when thinking about the possibility of living in a pack, but sets those ideas to the side while he figures out this ‘Hextech dream’

An all encompassing heat surrounded Eda at that instant. Her bare body was warm, boiling, melting against the cold nest underneath her.

Something ached inside of her. There was an urge, a quivering sensation that did nothing but remind her of her denomination.

Omega.

Not weak, but nurturing. Not strong, but protective. Not level-headed, but intuitive.

It was an omega’s strength to keep a pack united.

She remembered that one time one of her philosophy professors recalled how many wars had been fought and ended not by omegas, but for them. Yes, his commentary was somewhat sexist and even unnecessary, but it got her thinking.

Never before did she give herself time to be an Omega. She had obligations, work to do.

Her heats were usually spent in her nest, far away from the harsh, cold, gritty, insensitive world that had stomped down on her since the beginning.

Then again, all her previous heats paled to the one happening right at this moment.

Eda extended her arms to feel the man next to her.

Though he was not the archetype of an Alpha he still made her feel safe. His fingers ran up and down her back in a soothing manner, barely even touching her bra.

He pulled her even closer and wrapped his arm around her figure.

They hugged.

Now she understood why bonded pairs could not take their hands off of each other. The feeling was intoxicating, addictive even.

For a split second there she really did consider riding him to oblivion, but as soon as his scent filled her nostrils, she was out. The stress of the day left her when his arms pulled her even closer, just perfectly aligned to his scent gland.

The heavy weight of her worries banished without a second thought and instantly she knew everything would be alright.

And even if it wasn’t, she would make it right.

…

Eda woke up at around 6am, just in time to gather her bearings.

She stretched over the nest, shaking the stiffness off her body.

The quietness of the villa almost disturbed her. It’s not like the dorms were full of noise or in a constant state of havoc, but the occasional sounds of people passing by, the flicking of lights being turned off and on, or even the distant murmurs of people talking in the common areas were a welcome reminder of life happening all around her.

In the villa, however, the noises were more akin to what would be expected of a residence in the rural area near the city walls.

Everything that happened the day prior came to her in pieces. She remembered talking to Councilor Medarda and her heat starting… then she remembered running to the Masters villa, hiding in a room, waking up and–

She lifted the covers and discovered a very handsome and, fortunately, very dressed man.

So they did not go all the way… He just stayed put next to her and that was enough to quell her heat.

She scrambled over to her belongings and took out the notebook she kept in her purse, her hand scribbling as fast as her pencil allowed. Sky did tell her the suppressant was still in the trial phase, maybe she’d appreciate a report on the symptoms experienced during and after the ‘semi-heat’.

It was too early for the birds to sing yet. The sun gave way to a pale blue color in the sky, indicating it was about to rise.

The only sounds were those of the water running in the fountain outside and the quiet breeze of air seeping through the bathroom window. The silence, even if strange to her, was an appreciated change of pace.

Now, with a little more peace and quiet, Eda noticed many details in the man’s face she had failed to do previously.

Firstly, he was not much older than her, unlike what she had suspected from his musings and vocabulary. His features were sharp, yet they kept some young-ish traits that told her he had to be in his 20-somethings, not even late 20’s, 26 years tops.

Eda’s hand caressed his cheek and his only reaction was a slight twitch, he must have been very tired. People don’t usually make it a habit to get home by midnight, less so to sleep next to the stranger that broke into their home.

Her eyes kept drifting over his handsome features. He was not tall as far as she could tell and was skinnier than her first assessment suggested. Ah, yes, she did see those beauty marks that beautifully framed his face. She would definitely miss those because…

Her second observation in her post-heat clarity would be that he had to be a teacher or, at the very least, a professor’s assistant. The latter would be the least likely due to how selective the academy was regarding the Master’s villa in an effort to make it more exclusive. Not that she blamed them, the houses here could almost be considered national heritage.

Eda caught herself in her usual mental rambings again as she put on her clothes. Either way, the situation at hand could only bring more trouble for them. She was a student and, if he was not a professor himself, he could only be an assistant. If rumors of a High house member messing around with a teacher from her university were to spread, it would certainly set back many of her plans. She had to keep her reputation squeaky clean from now on to make Hextech a reality.

At last her shirt was on and Eda stalked over to the kitchenette only leaning on the wall for support a few times.

The entire set of kitchen furniture, save the dinner table, were somewhat rustic. Its design reminded her of the one she had back at home, that is her real home in Zaun. It brought her many memories of how she and her dad used to go to the downtown market early in the morning to buy fresh ingredients for their meals every weekend.

He made the best pancakes, his trick was to use honey instead of sugar and only greasing up the pan once or twice during the whole ordeal. That way all the pancakes would come out evenly browned and fluffy.

Setting aside her nostalgia, she filled a pot about three quarters full of water and turned on the flame of the two top-side burners of the stove. On the left she put the pot of water, eventually tea, and on the right she set a medium-sized pan she found hanging over the breakfast-bar.

While those two heated up, she picked out some eggs and meat to make a simple dish of… you guessed it, eggs and bacon. She put the bacon on the pan while she chopped some fruit she had seen on his fruit bowl yesterday. By the time she was done the bacon was just the right kind of fried and the pan was coated in grease, perfect for the next step.

The secret to cracking an egg, Eda mused to herself, is to do it on a flat surface. Which, for her, meant on the counter next to her work area. She even added a little bit of extra butter to make the egg’s edges crispier.

Whatever was left of grease on the pan was used up when she put the bread slices on the same pan and toasted them.

About an hour had passed since she woke up. The first half she spent waking up and admiring the Alpha, the other half of that hour had gone by while making their meal, forty-five minutes if Eda had to account for the time she spent eating it. He must have been really tired not to wake up to the noise she made.

At around 7 am she was ready to leave. Just in time for her third observation to come to mind: he offered a place to stay during a vulnerable moment and did not attempt to push things further. She, at least, owed him compensation for that.

Eda tore a piece of paper from her notebook and wrote a simple message for him to read whenever he woke up.

In that letter she wrote neither her name nor how to find her. It may have seemed like an oversight, but it was completely intentional. She had to keep her reputation squeaky clean for the time being, this brought up many risks she was not willing to take at the moment. Besides, she knew where to find the Alpha.

All the while Eda expected another heat wave or any sign of her suppressants not working, but none came. Either her proximity to the Alpha or Sky’s suppressants had rendered her symptoms nonexistent.

She thought for a moment. It would be a safer bet to stay until the Alpha woke up, but she had very little time to spare and she had to meet up with Jayce and get back on planning their next steps. She didn’t know if her attempt at a pitch was enough to get the Councilor to consider giving Hextech another chance.

There was no other option, Eda had to make her way back to her dorm room now. She opened the door and walked out, giving one last glance behind.

She took notice of the colorful patch of flowers growing through the cracks just outside his door. None of the other houses had them. The Alpha must have taken care of them.

Using what little cover the morning offered, she made her way back to her place.

The walk from the villa to the school was a short one, as one would expect. Stone slabs paved the way to a discreet entrance near the west wing of the main building.

Before she realized she was already in the common area of her dorm. Only a few students were present in the common area helping themselves to a hearthy cup of coffee. She hurried up before anyone else could witness her arrival.

Striding up to the elevator and then down the hallway, Eda reached her door in record time when a familiar scent made itself known. She gave the door another whiff just to be sure.

Jayce had been there.

Had he tried to pay her a visit during the night?

She quickly opened her door, expecting to see any trace of him either on the couch or her own bedroom, but found nothing.

His oaky scent was fresh, very fresh. Just her luck to go search for him only for him to have gone searching for her too.

Then a piece of paper caught her attention. It had Jayce’s messy handwriting all over it.

‘To my loveliest most gracious partner,

Are you alright, I’m wor Eda, you conniving little menace.

How did you even

I can’t thank you enough for whatever trick you pulled this time. Councilor Mel Medarda convinced Dr. Heimerdinger to give us another chance. It was crazy. I’ll tell you the details when I get to see you. Here’s what you need to know right now:

We had a breakthrough! Finally the crystals reacted positively to the oscillations and we found a way to make the runes syntonize with the equipment AND the crystals AT THE SAME TIME. Even Heimerdinger was surprised we managed to pull it off!

They did say we’d need another hearing to make our case. More on that later.

And yes, I said ‘we’. You won’t believe this, but Heimerdinger’s assistant (yes, THAT one) recognized our notes on Hextech and its uses before they were sent to be burnt and decided to help! Turns out he’s a pretty decent guy outside the classroom, he’s just a bit serious sometimes (might I add he is also very interested in your project?)

Don’t be mad, but I did offer him to be our new partner. Trust me on this one, you’re gonna love him. His name is Viktor, I’ve told him lots about you. He’s eager to meet you.

We scheduled a reunion today at 1pm in lab 1-E in the west building, next to the classroom you used to walk me to after your classes ended. I hope to see you there.

I understand if you can’t make it because of, please do let me know if you’re alright. I can help you thr I’ll be at your dorm as fast as possible just in case you need anything.

Love, Jayce-boy’

Eda clutched the letter to her chest and slowly fell to her knees.

He was fine, more than fine even. That was a huge relief, she didn’t expect things to turn out that well. She couldn’t help but smile at the scribbled out opening of the letter. He cared for her deeply, even if he tried to seem nonchalant about it.

Another thing that caught her attention was the mention of a new partner. She hadn’t considered the possibility of adding someone else to the mix. She always envisioned Jayce and herself at the front of the operation, even if they didn’t understand each other all of the time. Miscommunication between Architects and Engineers was nothing new in their departments.

Adding someone made sense at the end of the day, Jayce needed another point of view regarding the technical side of Hextech, and she herself was not able to give him all the answers to their projects. If anything she gave him more ideas than solutions.

Yet something kept poking at the back of her mind; as smart as Jayce was, he was too trusting at times. It was like he could only see the best in every person. Even after being proven wrong, he still chose to try and be positive. The complete opposite of herself, who decided to proceed with caution, only deciding to confide in very few people. She’d have to see this ‘Viktor’ guy in person, make sure he was in it for the right reasons.

The oaky fragrance of Jayce’s scent was starting to get distracting, though.

The fact that she could still smell him in her apartment meant she was not out of the woods yet. Then her own scent reached her nose. Definitely still in heat, just not noticeably.

While the heatwaves and general sexual appetite were gone, the heightened sense of smell was still a clear symptom of heat in Omegas. She would have to pay Sky a visit before heading to see her partners.

She sighed, but headed for a quick shower nonetheless. Thankfully she didn’t have any classes on saturday or it would’ve made things unnecessarily more complicated

While walking to her bathroom Eda noticed the little clues of Jayce’s presence. He had taken one of the shirts she stole from him a while ago. Damn.

His scent was most present in the shower. Did he take a shower just before heading out? He must have, he always turned up to the lab with his hair still wet and his face freshly shaved.

Eda stepped under the showerhead, the warm water enveloped her and suddenly she was not so sure her ‘appetite’ had disappeared at all.

She had a few minutes to spare, didn’t she?

The steam partially clouded the mirror, making her silhouette barely visible in the fog. She could almost picture Jayce’s reflection pressed against her and his perfect hands roaming up and down her body before settling on her hips. In her daydream Jayce kissed her neck, skimming over her scent gland.

Then another pair of hands appeared, now in front of her. The man from yesterday, with his chestnut locks dripping water and his accented voice whispering sweet nothings to her ear. The Alpha musk he emanated was mixing perfectly with Jayce’s. He opened his mouth, his canine teeth now about to bite down on her neck.

The only sounds coming from them were a cacophony of whimpers and moans until–

That’s it. Too much imagination. She had to get Sky ASAP, this was definitely not her normal self. Eda grabbed a towel and ran for her room, quickly stepping into a more becoming attire before heading out.

Luckily for her, Sky was usually at her lab.

…

As much as Viktor tried to get his mind off the Omega, he couldn’t. Had she gotten back to her dorm safe? What if she felt pressured to leave because of something he did?

Was he not a fit Alph–

At that he stopped his mind in its tracks.

He did not usually want to be an Alpha, if anything he tried to ignore his denomination and pass as a Beta, just as he had done since he was young. While the doctors insisted on him going through a normal rut cycle, he had postponed it as much as possible to the point were it may start affecting his health again.

The initial treatment did improve his health significantly, his leg did not bother him as much and his pain decreased from what it used to be, yet his endocrine system was still affected due to his hormones not quite following the biological expectations which, by proxy, facilitated a whole myriad of other health concerns.

As expected, he would avoid people in general out of fear of his Alpha latching onto a compatible mate, be it a Beta or an Omega. He did not need a pack holding him back from making something out of himself.

Yesterday had changed that.

There was something strange about the pair he had met. Almost like a force pulling him to them, maybe akin to destiny. Many coincidences had led him to the place he was at the moment, yet none of them seemed as… fortuitous as the one that took place in the last fifteen hours.

First Jayce, the young Beta, about to jump off the building. Thank gods he was there to stop him.

After their initial talk about Hextech and their subsequent breakthrough, they continued their conversation on the way to the villa. Jayce talked non stop about his, now their, partner. His admiration was palpable, and even contagious.

During this exchange there were also moments of silence.

They exchanged glances then, none of them said a word about what could’ve happened had Viktor not been there snooping around, but they knew. That highly sentimental connection was not lost on him.

Then that Omega happened. Viktor had always been disgusted by the stereotypical figure of Alphas who abused their denomination deep in the fissures. It was well-known that, more often than not, Alphas were the ones to rule over the others thanks to their biological advantages. He had suspected he might not have been a Beta long ago, but did not give it any more thought.

Yes, he had many… desires typical of his Alpha nature, but he made sure to keep them in check. That night had tested his limits and, at the same time, proven them useless.

The absolute faith the Omega put on him irritated him at first.

How could she have been so calm, so… trusting, in such a perilous situation?

Yet, she had a way of making each and every one of his worries fly out the window. By the time he realized what was going on, she was already combing her fingers through his hair. They were talking as if nothing was wrong because, really, nothing was.

He found himself falling for his instincts in a way he had not ever dreamt possible. While his sexual urges were present, his need to make sure she was safe far exceeded any other impulse. He only got to relax when he was sure she had dozed off first.

A thought crossed his mind: he wouldn’t mind a pack if it were to be with them.

Was it even in his plans? Long ago he concluded he didn’t want, nor need, a pack.

That was also around the time he decided to ignore the part of him that desired the impossible.

Viktor stopped the intrusive thoughts on their tracks and fixed his tie, looking for any fuzz or wrinkles in his perfectly ironed uniform. None were there, but he had to make sure for the umpteen time that day. He wanted to look presentable, now more than ever.

Something about this reunion had him restless and he had to take his mind off… everything.

Certainly he’d arrive early, far too early for either of them to be there, but he would not be able to sit around and do nothing with his home still smelling like Her.

A fire within was already burning and he had to do something before he combusted in flames.

He fixed his hair once more and stepped out of his house, a book on alchemy and runes in his left hand and his cane on the right one.

He was ready to, formally, meet his partners at last.

…

Eda opened the door and peeked into the second chemistry lab on the third floor of the building, the one Sky frequented due to its natural light and easy access from her own dorm room (or so she said) She saw little to no students, as one would expect to see on a weekend.

None of them had seemed to notice her so she made her way to the back of the room, where she had noticed a very familiar messy bun hard at work.

A pair of hands hovered over Sky’s glasses, mindful not to touch them.

“Guess who,” A very familiar voice said.

“Glad to see you did not lose your sense of humor on your way to the dorm” Sky answered. Eda noticed the dark spots under her eyes and the various cups of coffee scattered over her desk. Had Sky not slept at all?

“Huh. How did you know I didn’t make it to my room? You have spies or something?” Eda put down her hands, grabbed a hold of a stool next to Sky, and plumped down on it, now worried about her friend.

“As if. No, I– ” Sky put a hand to her forehead “I’m sorry, let me start again. Are you alright? Last night I noticed you didn’t make it to your room and I panicked. I swear I would’ve told Jayce or something, but I know you don’t like me worrying about–” She turned to look at Eda.

“Woah, what?” Sky stared at her, worry written all over her face “No, I’m perfectly fine. I did get to mask my heat. The effect only lasted a couple of hours, not four by the way, before it came in full force right in front of Councilor Medarda. I ran away, yes. That was embarrassing, yes. I didn’t make it to my room, but I… managed. I found a place to stay for the night. Don’t look at me like that, I swear I’m fine” Sky’s tense posture relaxed slightly “Now tell me what has you all stressed out. Please”

“Yesterday I– I was planning on coming to visit you after I finished up some of my lab reports here. I even bought some of those little tarts you love, but when I got there you were nowhere to be seen” Sky hid her face for a moment before continuing “I waited for you for… a while, I was really worried you might’ve presented some secondary effects and gotten lost somewhere out there. Then,” She turned to look at her again “As I was leaving I saw Jayce approach your door and knock a few times”

Sky hugged her once more. “I was worried sick. What if something went wrong?”

“I can– ”

“Don’t give me that ‘I can take care of my own’ crap right now, Eda. I know you can,” Eda patted her back softly. “It’s just that you were my responsibility then. I was supposed to make sure you made it home safe”

“Well… I did make it into a home safe, yes” Sky looked at her quizzically. “Let’s just say I met someone who took good care of me– NO. Not like that! Geez, get your mind out of the gutter. No, he…”

“Oh, so it’s a he” A devilish smile formed in Sky’s face. “Interesting”

“Please, he was just a nice Alpha. He let me stay in his room for the night and no, nothing happened.” Eda paused “Actually that’s why I came here to talk”

“To tell me all about your heat escapade with a mysterious Alpha man? By all means do continue. I’m intrigued” Sky rested her chin on her hand, clearly entertained.

“N– well, yes, partially, but uhm, ” Eda stumbled on her words, but took out a piece of paper from her bag nonetheless. “I wrote down all of the symptoms and effects I presented after drinking your suppressant”

“It’s not a suppressant” Eda looked at her quizzically and Sky elaborated. “It’s more of a ‘scent masker’, if we were to be technical. It didn’t suppress anything, you’re still… yeah”

“Well, that explains a lot of things. I still feel somewhat… y’know”

“Somewhat… what, Eda? I don’t know what you’re talking about” Sky smiled, feigning ignorance.

“You little shit! You know exactly what I mean –but… I’ve got to say, I was surprised at the result. It did help a lot, thank you”

Sky looked at her for a minute, no words exchanged. Eda was about to ask her what was wrong before her voice interrupted her “When I made this I was hoping to create something meaningless, just some scent-tech that would never be used”

“Only you would desire to create a useless invention”

“I wish. Turns out my thesis advisor spoke to Councillor Shoola and she’s interested in it, which got me concerned. Why would she want to sponsor this if it was meant to be useless?” Sky paused. “Well, turns out Omegas disappearing while they are in their heat is not as uncommon as one might think, apparently”

“What?”

“Statistics have shown a small increase in reported Omegan disappearances in the last year. Usually it wouldn’t be given more significance, but given… new intel from the sheriff it may be cause for concern” Sky looked over to the window. “The undercity has never been safe, not even for Alphas, but there is something new going on. You have to tread carefully, Eda”

“Well, that wasn’t ominous at all” Eda dispersed the tension. “It would’ve been nice to know this beforehand,” Sky turned to look at her, almost as if saying ‘try to guess why I couldn’t tell you’ “-nevermind, I get it. This stays between us. Another secret added to our little collection, alright”

“With that out of the way…” Sky smiled again. “Tell me everything”

The pair continued talking about last night’s events. Eda was sure to include the symptoms and Sky, now with renewed scientific curiosity, took note of them. The conversation ranged from their respective projects to the next steps Eda would need to take for Hextech to come true, and finally the conversation shifted to the nameless Alpha, all in good fun.

That is until they reached a certain topic.

“Just so you know, for research purposes I’ve had to study many cases of Alpha and Omega courting” Sky’s words caught her by surprise.

Eda choked on her own saliva “O- Hmm. Alright?”

“It’s not normal for an Omegan heat to be sated so easily”

The air became thick with Eda’s silence. She gave Sky a doubtful glare, recalling a similar situation a few months back. “I don’t know about that, Sky. Aside from suppressants, during my last heat I just got some used clothes and they worked just as well”

“From what I gather, that usually means high compatibility among courting pack mates. It’s the Omega system slowing you down to be more easily bit, and therefore, mated. Soulmates don’t exist, but that connection is as biologically close as we can get to the concept”

“--but that has only happened with Jayce before”

“I’m gonna let you connect the dots on that one”

…

Viktor arrived early at the lab. Way too early. Maybe even too soon to be early.

The lab was lent to him specially by Dr. Heimerdinger in hopes of putting it into good use after near abandonment. It proved too cramped to give lectures in and too spacious for personal use of faculty staff. The only condition Cecil put was to keep it clean and, knowing Viktor, that was a given.

As fast as Viktor got inside, he hurried over to his desk, not even bothering to close the door behind him. He opened the book he carried and got on to jotting down the symbols described in it along their supposed effects.

Admittedly, it had been a while since he got so worked up over basically nothing. As Jayce said ‘Hextech is the easy part’. Last night, they discovered how to stabilize the nucleus enough to receive commands in the shape of runes. The next logical step was figuring out what exactly the runes translate to.

Though, that would take quite some time. Viktor eyed to book next to him, full to the brim with ancient sigils and runes, all possible combinations of commands for their nucleus.

Really, today would mostly consist of getting a hang on the nucleus, its possible uses, and overall brainstorm of ideas on how to implement it into “Eda’s” masterplan (Jayce had been very adamant on that last part), but little else aside from the mere formalities of getting to meet his new partners.

Or so he assumed.

He could only hope his brilliance could make up for his lacking social skills. Networking had never been his strength, not even when it was crucial. The very few times he had a chance to meet possible sponsors for his independent projects, he had gravely misused them, instead opting for his work to speak for itself.

It was a wonder how Dr. Heimerdinger had even come across him in that little stand downtown.

He absentmindedly touched his neck, right where the Omega had scented him.

She was a student in the academy yet they hadn’t crossed paths. In all likelihood, she was probably in another program, something related to design if he had to take a guess.

He would need to look for her some time in the near future, maybe.

The distant clicking of boot heels brought him back to reality. Viktor turned his gaze just in time to see Jayce entering the lab with a book and some pieces of paper in his arms.

“Hey there, Vik. I thought I’d see you here early”

“Jayce, a pleasure seeing you again”

“You’re working already? Oh my god, I’m sorry for getting here late. Let me help you” He Beta made his way to Viktor in a rush. As he got closer the Alpha noticed there was something different about him. Not physically, but… something was amiss.

Jayce filled the silence as he came to expect “You wouldn't believe how hard it was to leave the dorms–”

“I was not aware exiled students had assigned dorm rooms” Viktor then realised how badly he had phrased his observation “I’m sorry, I did not mean-”

Jayce managed to stifle a chuckle “Oh, no, you’re not wrong. I did not have a dorm even when I was a student. The costs were far too high!” Viktor paused his writing. He had assumed that Lower Houses had access to those kinds of services. Maybe he had been too wishful. “-- No, I slept at Eda’s. She gave me a key a while ago. I don’t make it a habit to sleep there, but seeing as she wasn’t there, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to crash on her sofa for the night”

“That explains why you’re so… clean” Jayce couldn’t help but actually laugh at that.

“Oh, yeah. I guess you have only seen me at the brink of utter desperation. No, I’m usually like this” He signaled to himself, his shirt seemingly spotless under the school’s dress jacket and the same pants as yesterday. “Though I did use her shampoo, maybe that’s why my hair is extra fluffy today”

Something kept bothering Viktor about Jayce’s appearance, not in the wrong way; he just couldn’t point out what it was that kept screaming for his attention. It was not the shirt, nor the shoes. Something about his scent…

Then it hit him. That fragrance. He had smelled it somewhere before, but where?

He decided to ignore it until he could pin where he had smelled it before “I see. Well, uhm. Jayce, I must say, I kept thinking about what you said yesterday about how we only needed to ‘crack the code’ to make your Hextech work”

“Our Hextech”

A warm feeling bloomed in Viktor’s chest once more “Our Hextech, yes. About that-” He moved to the side, allowing Jayce to see what he had been writing for the past several hours. It was a comparison chart of sorts between the runes written in the book and in Jayce’s notes side to side with their supposed effects when given to the nucleus.

Immediately Jayce understood what he was doing. “This is amazing, V. Let me just– ” He moved closer to the notebook and, therefore, Viktor. He rested his arm against the Alpha’s while writing down a few of his observations. Viktor took this time to make a few of his own regarding his partner.

Jayce’s oakwood scent was fainter than one might think; he did not need to flaunt to be noticed, any room could be illuminated with his presence alone. That much was obvious by the way he conducted himself. He was not gracious nor elegant, but a whole other thing. He was earnest, very intelligent, hardworking and trusting. Maybe too trusting to give him this much access to his, and Eda’s, project while knowing practically nothing about Viktor.

“Hey, V. Could you come check this out for a second?”

Jayce had stood up and started writing, drawing and solving equations on the blackboard. When exactly did that happen? Viktor was not sure. He had been lost in his own thoughts.

The Alpha grabbed his cane and stood up next to the Beta. They went through their shared annotations. Several minutes went by before Viktor realized how close Jayce had gotten, absentmindedly leaning over to him.

During their brief time together, Viktor took notice of Jayce’s distaste for the ‘awkward’ silences partially due to the fact that he kept trying to make small talk. However, at some point the conversation shifted to last night’s events.

“-and then that’s when I decided to go inside, but found no one. Is it weird that she wasn’t there? I feel like something is missing. I don’t even know if she got my letter. I’m certain she moved her stuff into her dorm room, so she’s not living at her house right now” He shifted unconsciously “but where was she last night if not there? Do you think she’s avoiding me because her project was compromised? I’d hate to-”

“I think you might be reading too much into it” Viktor cut Jayce’s nervous ramblings “Councilor Medarda made sure to let us know it was thanks to Eda’s intervention that she even considered giving Hextech another chance”

Jayce’s whole body language remained just as uneasy, so Viktor continued.

“Had your friend been upset, I’m not certain she would’ve been so gracious as to pull some strings in your favor”

“I- yeah. I hope you’re right. It’s just that the thought of her being distressed makes me feel like I’m burning alive” Jayce opened his eyes wide in surprise “Did I say that out loud?”

“Indeed” Viktor faced him momentarily, taking in how much Eda meant to Jayce. A whole lot, by the looks of it. Jayce hadn’t mentioned they were a bonded pair nor did he correct him whenever he called them ‘friends’, but their closeness didn’t make sense any other way. Still, his neck did not bear a mating bite.

“I need to get my mind off that. You’re right, I’m just worried” His callused hands rubbed his eyes “Did you get any sleep last night, V? You look ‘clean’ too”

Viktor’s hand stopped suddenly, leaving a rune’s description half written across the board. His mind flooded with all the events that took place in his house. Specifically in his bedroom. All he could manage to blurt out was “Now that you bring it up, something did happen”

“What was it? Did someone break into your home?” He said jokingly, but Viktor remained serious. “Are you kidding? Viktor, if someone broke into your home I swear-”

“Nothing bad came of it. It was an Omega, she needed help. Nothing else”

“Still, that could’ve gone horribly wrong. Did you get her name, address or something?”

But before he could elaborate, a woman ran to Jayce’s arms and hugged him, almost sending him tumbling down to the floor.

…

After her little chat with Sky, Eda was now more determined to get back with Jayce and plan out the steps to follow before, during, and after their trial with the Council members. That would be the turning point for them. Everything depended on the majority of the members to agree, and Eda had just the right pitch to make for them.

Even then, they still had the Innovators Competition to look forward to after that. She had no doubt they’d win this time around. There were only two months left before they had to submit their projects and get to the finalists round. During three days the finalists would be invited to select parties meant to let possible sponsors get to know the geniuses they would be exploiting working alongside with soon enough.

The more she thought about the possibilities, the more her step fastened. They would need to replace the materials and equipment lost either to the explosion or to the legal intervention of the sheriff.

Eda found herself rushing through the Engineering department looking for the lab Jayce had described in his letter. She vaguely remembered it, but it had been a while since she had last accompanied him to that specific classroom.

Suddenly she saw him, clear as day. He looked serious, his thick brows almost touching in focus. Surely he had already gotten to work already.

She ran towards him with a desperation she didn’t even know she was capable of, and jumped to his arms. The mere force of it almost sent them straight to the floor.

“That’s her”

…

Notes:

Hello againnnn! I’m so sorry for taking so long to push out this chapter. This whole thesis thing has been kicking my ass lately. I hope you enjoy this humble offering. I promise to keep updating as soon as I possibly can fr fr.

Finally we are (almost) done with the canon-compliant chapters before the timeskip between acts I and II of the first season! Only a few more chapters and the more radical artistic freedom is back on!!!! As you may have noticed, yes, Viktor’s backstory is completely different from the one implied in the series/described by the creators, but I will be sure to include the excerpts shown from when he was a child. Yes, that includes Singed.

I think Jayce’s desire to be an Alpha and Viktor’s to be a Beta gives ground for personal conflicts and an interesting storyline for my boys. I will try to elaborate in further chapters. In most ABO universes sexual freedom is the norm, I think, so I will run with that. Adults talk about heats and ruts, but it's usually kept on the down-low for properties sake.

As you’d expect, I’ve never written for polycules. Please let me know if I’m overstepping or making it confusing at times. In these few chapters I’d like to make apparent the attraction Viktor, Jayce and Eda feel for each other without creating a conflict of interests. They are all open to the idea of attraction to more than one person at the same time, yet their desire to act upon it will vary. They all have individual goals that may or may not be held back by a pack, and I want to give them time to realise they can have it all, if they can manage it.

Also, a quick announcement. Yes, the fic description, as well as chapter 4 have been edited! This fic started as a way to explore Viktor’s feelings through a reader insert, but somewhere in the middle it turned into a political drama with an actual plot! I’m so sorry if you came here not expecting that change, but I promise to try and make it interesting.

Don’t worry, I will continue to develop the characters, established plotlines and Eda’s project alongside the JayVik+Reader ABO aspect of the whole thing.

As always, thank you very much for reading up to here.

#a/b/o dynamics #jayce talis #jayce x reader #viktor arcane #viktor x reader #pekkwrites #jayce arcane #reader insert #omegaverse

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spectral-devotee · 1 month ago

Text

Spring will come

Original prompts by @ stmarchmm

Crossposted to AO3

Day 02: Breeding

Summary: Viktor's first rut arrives

“Have you locked the door?” Viktor asked for the umpteenth time from his spot in the master room’s nest where he laid spread over your legs. His head rested on just the right spot over your thighs so you could comb through his hair, as he always asked for you to do.

“Yes, V!” Jayce’s voice answered back from the kitchenette.

The soft blankets that enveloped you both stirred as he raised his torso, about to ask more questions to Jayce “Have you also—”

Your Beta’s steps approached and suddenly he was showing his half-naked torso through the door frame, shuting Viktor up for a minute.

“Yes, Viktor. We have enough food in the fridge, we all asked for heat-leave, we re-supplied all your medicines and put them in their designated place. Eda and I brought our own clothes, and the lube is in my drawer”

You felt your Alpha relax for a second before he opened his mouth again “Did you make sure—”

Now it was your turn to interrupt “We also made sure to lock the door to the lab back at the academy. We turned off all the valves and equipment too. Jayce helped me fix the light bulb, and we put away the tools into their respective cases. Everything is alright, Alpha. Leave it to us, you can rest now”

Your mate had not ever gone through a normal rut in his whole life. It was to be expected he would be somewhat apprehensive and nervous, so you and Jayce made a checklist of all the things your mate had in mind previous to his absence from the Academy.

You continued massaging him and his muscles gave in, finally letting all his weight fall on top of your legs.

To you, keeping track of all pending tasks was a small gesture but seeing Viktor now you were sure it meant a lot for him.

His skin felt feverish and his pheromones gave a weird mixture of desperation and comfort. You let him off into the nest gently and got up to help Jayce finish cleaning before Viktor’s rut officially started.

“I just wish this could be over easy for him. He’s been stressing over his rut the whole week” Jayce said as he stocked the pantry with some last-minute canned food he bought just in case the rut lasted more than the usual five days.

You approached him and gave him a peck on the cheek. It was cute when he worried about your mate “We’ve got this, Jayce-boy. Now, why don’t you join us in the nest? It’s getting cold out here”

Jayce immediately grabbed your hand and followed you into the bedroom.

…

You woke up to one of your mate’s hands roaming under your nightgown.

Just by the sheer size of his body rubbing against you and his calloused touch, you could tell it was your Beta. His fingers traced over your curves, stopping only to pull you to him.

For a moment his palms held tightly onto your hips, keeping you in place to feel his dick hardening against your backside. He did not miss how you started producing slick, wetting your shorts and the blankets underneath.

“Alpha wants you, ‘mega” He whispered to your ear, barely audible but firm enough to send shocks through your system.

Then another set of lips started peppering kisses along your neck and down to your chest. Every few kisses, you Alpha made sure to tease you by softly biting into your flesh. Viktor’s tongue then licked your scent gland, teasing the sensitive area.

“Off” Viktor said and, to your surprise, Jayce’s hands stopped just as they were about to reach your breasts and instead started lifting up your nightgown. Your arousal would most likely be obvious if only they could see how wet you already were under the silken clothes.

You were only left in your shorts, vulnerable to your Alpha’s intense glare and your Beta’s touch.

“You’re doing so well, baby. Letting your Beta prep you for our Alpha” Jayce took the chance to part your legs and guide your hands over to your nape, exposing your figure even further to Viktor. You were leaning entirely over Jayce’s bare torso, his skin hot and humid against your back.

Certainly it was a rare sight to see Jayce so… submissive to Viktor’s demands. Yes, he mostly respected the usual denomination hierarchy, but this was on a whole other level. His eyes were attentive to Viktor’s every move, an instinctual response to the pack’s Alpha.

Jayce’s desire to please him was palpable even if it was obvious how he wanted nothing more than to ravage you at that instant.

Viktor remained silent, observing the both of you as Jayce started trailing his hands over you again. Even though your Beta’s kisses remained chaste, the bulge poking at you from behind told a different tale of what he wanted to do to you.

Your Alpha’s expression was unreadable, but his scent screamed he was ready to pounce at the display Jayce and you were putting on for him.

You could get used to this kind of attention.

He took his time crawling over the blankets, softly tracing his fingers along your legs before reaching under and parting them before pulling you to him until your clothed pussy was flush against his lips and your head rested over Jayce’s herculean thighs.

Viktor inhaled your arousal as if his life depended on it. His nose rubbed on your sensitive nub, causing you to squirm but his grasp kept your hips in place for him. He backed away and you started missing the contact. You needed him inside you.

In an instant he removed your shorts, exposing your wet folds. You heard a sharp inhale behind you and you turned slightly to see Jayce’s cock standing proud and tall next to you. Yet his eyes were glued to Viktor’s face, waiting for some sort of signal to join.

That signal did not come as Viktor sunk his face in between your legs, first with open mouthed kisses along your pussy and then by his tongue licking and prodding your inner labia with a hunger unknown to you.

Before you knew it your hips were bucking to him in hopes of making your release come faster, but your Alpha’s stern gaze stopped you in your tracks. His furrowed brows let you know you would be coming only when he told you to come.

Deep in your fervor you noticed Jayce’s whimpers. It seemed like Viktor had prohibited him from touching his length or doing anything to relieve himself. Then you felt your mate’s tongue enter your hole, and prod at your gummy walls.

You mustered up the courage to go against your Alpha’s wishes and decided to take pity on your poor Beta who’s cock had gone without attention for long enough. You opened up your mouth and enveloped only his tip at the beginning. Your tongue swirled around this delicate cap, paying special attention to the underside of his glans.

Jayce’s hands got back on your body and started playing with your tits, kneading your mounds and stimulating your nipples between his fingers.

Viktor did not react to your actions, instead he decided to add two fingers inside your opening now that you were wet enough. His mouth moved up and his tongue focused on your clit, rubbing circles and applying more pressure according to your moans of pleasure.

Your mouth began going lower on Jayce’s fat cock, making sure not to forget the pulsating vein on the lower side of it. Your hands traced over his abs, grounding you while your mates did every possible thing to make you give yourself over to pleasure.

Viktor added another finger, making the heat inside you grow more and more. The continuous assault to your mound kept your back arched even as you were almost at the base of Jayce’s dick. His touch felt desperate, needy, frantic—

Then your orgasm shook you to your core.

You came back down huffing. All air had left your lungs as you exhaled in bliss. You were prepared for Viktor to enter you, knowing this was only the beginning of his rut, but he spoke directly to your Beta instead.

“Jayce, go first”

Your other mate turned his head in a hurry, clearly not expecting this either. “A- Are you sure, Vik? It is customary for Alphas to—”

“I want you to breed her first, Beta. You have not come yet, am I correct?” Jayce looked down at his bouncing cock. Viktor retracted back into the stack of discarded pillows behind him, his own erection standing with a half-knot. “Our little Omega here needs more preparation before I, or rather, we knock her up”

Viktor grabbed his dick and started pumping himself as he kept eye contact with Jayce “I want to see you breed her, Jayce. I need to see that beautiful pussy full and leaking with your come before my cock impales her and my knot plugs her up the whole night long”

Both you and Jayce stood aghast at his words, not sure if they had completely sank in for him the same way it had for your not-in-rut brains.

“I fully intend to make do of my promises, Beta. Won’t you listen to your Alpha, now?”

Something inside Jayce clicked and he ferociously kissed your Alpha before turning to you and finally kissing your mouth too, tasting himself in the process. While your lips parted and your tongues started exploring each other’s, Jayce slotted himself between your legs.

You lifted your hips to grant him easier access, an action which he fully took advantage of as he placed his hands over your bottom and rammed you into his pelvis.

For a second you feared he would enter you so suddenly, but he merely positioned you perfectly just so he could coat his member with your slick.

As he moved up and down your lower lips he kept rubbing against your sensitive clit. You angled yourself over your elbows and the sight of your Beta pleasuring himself with your folds turned out to be hotter than you would have thought. You could even see the small beads of pre cum seeping from his tip.

Only a few seconds later his dick was glistening with your mixed juices, a testament of your mutual arousement.

“Ready, Omega?” He set himself atop of you, his hands trapping you beneath him.

In response you only lifted your pussy to tease his member one last time as you turned to see Viktor lost at the sight of you “Fill me up, Beta, plea—”

Before you could finish your sentence Jayce pushed inside you up to the hilt. With how sensitive you were from your previous orgasm you felt every ridge and movement he made.

He stilled for a second, letting you get used to his size which was, in fact, very big for a Beta.

Your chest raised up and down with your labored breaths as he moved his hands to meet your hips. His thumbs laid right over your pelvic bone, softly massaging circles into your soft skin.

The gesture helped you take your mind off the fact that you felt like you were about to be torn in half just from the sheer size of his dick inside your wet cavern and you could do nothing but to take him. Not that you had any complaints, though.

Jayce started slow. Even when helped by your slick and arousal it was a tight fit, leaving little ground for you to do anything besides thanking all the gods that put this man in your path and cursing the time you had spent without having sex with him.

His grunts and moans queued you into hooking your legs behind him, making impossible any slip outside your pussy. Your mate took this to mean you were ready for him to move faster.

With renewed vigor, your Beta moved his legs even deeper beneath you, coercing your chest up. His hands left your hips and quickly went over to hold on to the arch he had created under your back. You had only a moment's notice before he started ramming into you.

“O…mega. Ghn– My… My Omega” His voice came in syllables. You, on the other hand, were barely even able to keep your eyes open. The force was brutal but the pleasure you were deriving from it far exceeded the pain. How this man was not an Alpha was beyond you.

Your tits bounced against his broad chest. Beads of sweat fell on you as your lover chased his undoing.

In an instant Jayce’s mouth was latching on to your right nipple. Not quite biting, but also not letting the force of his thrusts interrupt his suckling. “So… so full, our Omega”

“Yes, Jayce. Can you imagine her stomach all round with our pups?” Viktor’s voice rang to your side “We could even take turns stuffing her until she can’t fit any more of our cum inside her. You could take her right tit while I suck on her left” His eyes had a spark in them you had only seen a few times.

Inspiration? Enthusiasm? No, none of those fit the mood. Fulfillment maybe?

The mental image of you heavy with pups was not one Jayce imagined often, that was for sure. Never before did the thought ever cross his mind, but something about Viktor’s words made his instincts go into overdrive.

“Beta” You said, or rather croaked. He had been using your fanny for far too long, you were on the verge of an orgasm while still riding out the one Viktor gave you.

Jayce glanced down at you, your eyes puffy and face all red. You could feel your drool falling out of your mouth out of sheer pleasure “Beta, ah— ahh… p… please fill me up” He turned to look at Viktor, waiting for him to say anything.

He wanted, no, needed to be a good Beta and prep you good and full for his Alpha.

“Such a good Beta” Viktor crawled over closer again, taking your left breast into his hand, playing with your hardening nipple “Be a good Beta and fill her up, Jayce”

Jayce sunk deeper inside you, hitting all the right spots until the tip of his cock kissed your cervix.

The spring inside you threatened to come undone again when your Alpha came to lay down next to you. Softly, delicately, his mouth replaced his touch while his hand traveled downwards to your quim.

You moaned when you noticed your Alpha’s fingers rubbing circles around your unattended clit, the overstimulation bacomming too much.

With one last pinch and your Beta stilling inside you, you came for the second time.

You tried to catch your breath; a hard task considering your Beta was still moving inside you. With whatever little force you still had you tried to move him, but his arms held you close. The amount of cum he was expelling into your poor cervix was inhumane.

Jayce’s member kept pulsating a minute or two after you had come. You and Viktor remained lying in your nest. His other hand crept up to your face and his thumb traced over your cheeks.

Love.

That was the spark behind his gaze.

You had no time to adjust before Jayce’s cock left your hole and was immediately substituted by Viktor’s. Indeed they did not let a single drop leak.

A different kind of fullness engulfed you. Your whimpers were silenced by Viktor’s tongue against your own.

Despite Jayce’s thorough prep, Viktor’s length still managed to get a reaction out of you. His half-formed knot was a welcome addition for your ruined pussy when you thought you could not feel any more full.

Viktor rolled you to your side while pumping into you, not missing a single beat. Jayce, on the other hand, rested for a moment before standing up and going to the bathroom. Most likely to clean himself up.

You turned to look at your mate. He was far more controlled now than you expected for an Alpha in rut. While centered on the pleasure, his eyes did not miss your gaze, opting to keep eye contact with you.

Not once did he expect full submission from you, as typical of others of his denomination. He was just like the time you had met him, sarcastic yet… warm and welcoming, familiar even.

“I did not take you for the family guy, Viktor” Your dry throat desperately needed water now. Maybe after this round you’d get up to find some.

“Shh, shh. Don’t strain yourself” His lips found your cheek and planted a kiss while his knot rubbed against your entrance, not quite in yet.

“I did not think of myself as one either, if I must be honest” His voice came out in huffs, his stamina lower than Jayce’s “-yet everytime I think about our future I cannot help but imagine giving you all you want”

A thrust hit your G-spot and Viktor kept trying to hit that gummy spot again and again.

“While I know not all Omegas want pups, I know yearning. Ghng— and I know that’s what I see in you whenever you think about o- our future” Your whimpers escaped your mouth once more as he continued hitting all the right spots “You don’t have to put your dreams a— ah- aside for our sake. You can ghnn… you can have everything you desire”

His hand moved over to your lower stomach and he pressed over the place where his cock was barely noticeable before pushing his whole length inside. While compassionate with your current sensitivity, he still made sure to rearrange your guts.

“M- ah… Maybe not right now, but we will give you your pups, Omega” He cooed to your ear.

You pressed your cheek to his as you felt his knot catch on the interior ring of your hole. The pulsating member became bigger and bigger until you had to spread your legs further apart, amazed at how big it would get. You couldn’t help but buck into him, your arousal about to give in once more.

His knot finally reached its full size, stretching your gummy walls to their limit and maybe even a little more. Your legs trembled as he kept pumping, even if his movements were futile. You moved your hands over to where he laid his own, surprising yourself by the fullness of your belly pouch.

Your Alpha’s hands started pawing that spot, almost as if wanting to encourage the seed to take.

Viktor kissed the side of your neck and bit your scent gland as he thrusted into you once more. His knot started pulsating, shooting more of his hot jets of cum into you. You could hardly distinguish whether it was your pussy milking him or the sheer intensity of your third orgasm, but either way you were spent. Your lower regions would need some time to recover from this exploitation.

White spots filled your vision and your ears rang with white noise, you recognized a familiar silhouette approaching quickly to the sight of you.

Jayce’s hands quickly positioned your head over a pillow and brought a glass of water to your lips. Your Beta made sure you drank enough water to not get dehydrated before putting away the glass and concerning himself with your Alpha.

You fell asleep to the sound of your mates covering up your bodies with a blanket and muttering sweet nothings before falling asleep themselves.

…

#viktor arcane #a/b/o dynamics #jayce talis #jayce x reader #viktor x reader #jayce x viktor #jayce arcane #reader insert #omegaverse #pekkwrites #smut

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spectral-devotee · 1 month ago

Text

Spring will come

Original prompts by @ stmarchmm Crossposted to AO3

Day 01: Courting Rituals Summary: It seems you have a secret admirer

For the seventh time that week you found an, admittedly small, pie on your designated desk in Viktor’s lab.

It had found its way to the center of your workspace, right over the sketches you had been working on the prior day. This time the filling was blueberry and cream cheese. Weird, usually you received the strawberry and white chocolate pie in the morning, and the blueberry one in the afternoon.

You pulled off the ribbon and, as always, it smelled divine.

The pastry came inside a pink little paper box decorated with a big red ribbon and the bakery’s signature ornate design. Kind of flashy, but beautiful nonetheless.

The first time it happened, you thought one of Jayce’s secret admirers had left it there for him to find. You took a few steps closer to inspect the item and noticed a small card attached to the box with a twine string.

It read only your name. No signature, no name, no return address.

The second time it happened —that same day in the afternoon may you add— you noticed the only difference, aside from the filling, was the note attached to it. In the evening the note would have a heart drawn with blue ink and nothing more, almost as if expecting you to know it was yours.

This continued for the next two days. You tried arriving early at the lab, but your attempts had been proven futile for the pastry was always there with no trace of the person who delivered it.

It’s not that you don’t appreciate it, really, you are actually very thankful for the gesture as it had saved you from going hungry when your schedule didn’t allow you leisure time to go for a bite at the school’s cafeteria… but who’s leaving the small pastries there?

They were clearly there for you, yet you were not sure of the intention behind it.

So far you had ruled out any of your friends in school, the students you would tutor from time to time, and any gifts from people who wanted your favor regarding the new gallery you were working on.

If not any of them, who?

“Hey, Eda!” Jayce called over to you from the doorway “Huh. What’s got you moping?”

“I’m not-” You started, but his knowing gaze got through your defenses “Ok, you got me…” You raised the little box for him to see.

“I have been getting these” You shook it gently for emphasis “for the past few days and… I don’t know… They are a little…”

He seemed to react to that statement “Huh... Did you not like the strawberry filling or…?”

“Oh, no. No, it’s not that. I actually love them, they are very thoughtful gifts. I’ve always liked both blueberries and strawberries.” You noticed a slight change in his posture at that, but you continued “It’s just that I just have no clue on who’s sending them or why. I would at least like to say thank you, if anything”

“What do you mean ‘blueberries’?” He tried to sound nonchalant, but you knew better. Jayce was hiding something. You eyed him for a second, but thought nothing of it.

You opted to keep his reaction in mind for the time being.

“Oh, well, yeah. In the mornings I usually get the strawberry pies, and then, in the evenings I get the blueberry ones. Weirdly enough I got the blueberry one early today, I think there may have been a mix up…” You thought for a moment “I’m sure my sugar levels are off the roof, but they are just too delicious to ignore, specially when I’m hungry”

His serious expression did not change before speaking again “I see. I uh… have to go. I’ll see you later” Jayce made a rush for the hallway, not even bothering to look back.

Now alone with your thoughts you were left with only one question: how did he know about the strawberry filling before you even mentioned it?

…

The day came and went in a rush. You had only managed to push out one floor plan of the general layout of the new and improved Hexgate design before lunchtime. You sighed when the prospect of having to stay after hours again for the complete master plan came to your mind.

Only a few more weeks before Progress Day and, with that, the first real step towards Hextech being a reality.

The three of you were hard at work. You were in charge of the entirety of the building and surrounding areas, at least on a preliminary level. Jayce was still deciphering some of the more complicated runes and their effects, a key piece to make the nucleus work as anticipated.

Meanwhile Viktor should be working on a few other things to make that same nucleus more stable. Namely, working on the capsule that would contain and send direct commands to it.

A crash and the subsequent mutterings in a foreign language probed you right. He must be getting tired, the last time you saw him leave his workstation was early in the morning, most likely to get another kettle full of coffee “for maximum efficiency” during work hours.

You took a final glance at the drawings and structural plans spread on your desk and decided to check up on him, if only to take your mind off things for a moment.

As you approached his side, you noticed Viktor correcting his posture, quickly straightening his back and putting his work aside for a moment.

“Hey Vik—” Before you could muster up a cordial greeting or to ask what he was working on, he immediately welcomed you “Eda, what a wonderful surprise seeing you here. The pleasure is all mine, yes, yes. What can I do for you?” You didn’t miss him grabbing something off the side of his table and putting it aside.

“Uhmm… I was actually here to check up on y— on how things are going around here, haha” You did your best to disguise your concern about his health habits. Thankfully he paid no mind to your slip up and he promptly turned to show you how his latest advancement was going.

His excitement was somewhat contagious as you found yourself fascinated by both his work and his way of explaining the intricacies of it.

You spent a few minutes talking about the advances towards the final design of the Hexgates and how many square meters would be needed to fit the entirety of the mechanism he and Jayce were working on. It was bigger than any of you had expected at first.

The first sketches depicted a small nucleus the size of a train motor (if that can even be called small), but more recent schemes show that you’d need to build a whole tower to fit every component needed to meet the city’s minimum requirements. There would be a lot to work on for the next few years, to say the least.

That is if you managed to win the Innovators Competition, and the process of design, and getting sponsors, and finding workers experienced enough to work with the technology, and—

Viktor noticed your sudden change in demeanor then.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, I just have a lot in my mind” You sunk on the seat he had grabbed for you while he was explaining the rune-code system he had managed to crack that same day.

“Would some food help you with that? I hear you spiraling into madness all the time until you get a bite of the pies” You chuckled at that “I guess someone is prone to ‘hangry-ness’, don’t you think?”

That last bit caught your attention.

“How do you know about the pies? Did Jayce tell you?”

“Something like that. He told me you seemed… intrigued by their sudden appearance, but did not elaborate further. Are you not satisfied with them?”

“No, it’s not that. I… I’m gonna be honest, Vik” He seemed to be even more attentive to you after that “I don’t think whoever is leaving those pies understands what they mean… to us” You gave him a knowing gaze which he didn’t quite return.

“What they mean to… us?”

“Y’know, us Zaunites” You pressed your hand to your chest, emphasizing your words.

“Ah” Something seemed to click for him “Did you think those gifts were merely that? Favors?”

“I’ve learned the hard way that Piltovian culture is very different from ours, Viktor, Courtesy, especially, is different for them. At first I thought someone wanted something from me, but the note had only my name written on it. No ‘Thank you, miss duMarquis’ or ‘You have been invited to…’, y’know?”

You took out the last note, the fourth heart drawn in blue ink you had received that week, and you extended it for him to see it with his own two eyes.

Common Piltovian courtesy insisted on giving small, yet expensive, gifts to ask for favors or to thank someone for their help. Some other times those same gifts came as a form of invitation to certain events. However, in Zaun, gift-giving had a very different connotation. Elaborate or expensive gifts were only given under two conditions: between packmates or courting rituals.

The first few times you had been given gifts by Salo you had been horrified, then you came to find he had only meant to welcome you into your new home.

Viktor kept eyeing the note, lost in thought, when Jayce entered the room once more.

“Oh, are we having a meeting? Let me grab some—”

“Actually, Jayce, I’m just telling Viktor about the pie debacle. I have to get to the bottom of it”

“Maybe debacle is just a tiny bit of a strong word for that, don’t you think?”

“No I— Jayce, I… uhmm. I don’t think you get the importance of them. It’s fine, I just need to find who’s leaving them there”

“They clearly say your name, Eda. They are yours!”

“No, they can’t. No one’s asking anything from me with them. They have to be someone else’s”

“Eda, they are gifts. Why don’t you just accept them—”

“Because I swear if I continue getting more of these pies I will start believing someone is actually trying to court me!” You stood up, surprising them both.

While no tears threatened to fall off your eyes, your voice still cracked.

It had been really hard for you to adapt to Piltovian mannerisms, but you managed to do it at the cost of your omega’s sensitivity. Many unrequited advances taught you to stick to what was normal for the people here.

Gifts held close to no significance to them, when they meant the world to you.

“Would that be wrong?” Viktor’s voice cut through the silence after being quiet during your exchange.

Even if you didn’t trust your voice, you answered back “I don’t want to be let down again” A sad smile appeared on your face “Besides, I’m busy, and I already have some— I… I don’t think I could reciprocate the feelings for this person. I have you guys to take care of. The Hexgates won’t build themselves I— We have a lot of work ahead of us!”

You cleared your throat and made your way to the door, on the way noting no pie had magically showed up on your desk even as the sky turned dark.

As expected, too good to be true.

“You say you have enough with the two of us, but would you pursue this ‘person’ if given the chance?” Jayce’s voice startled you. How did you not notice him following after you?

“I’m not sure Jayce, I…” Then everything fell in place. Why Jayce knew what the filling was, why Viktor hid something as soon as you got near him, and most importantly why there were two different kinds of pies in the first place “Wait a second. Are you two courting me?”

“In his defence,” Viktor spoke from his desk, not too far away “I came up with the idea. I heard you missed the pies Jericho made. I thought them a good enough alternative. Besides, sending Jayce down there would have cost us millions in scams”

“Hey! I told you I know how to bargain it’s you who won’t let me—”

You couldn’t help but laugh audibly at that. They stopped arguing to join you, seeing the absurdity of it all.

After your hollering died down, Jayce spoke again.

“So… is that a yes or…?”

Viktor glanced at you, expecting an answer too.

“That’s a stop giving me any more trouble, I’m already behind schedule” You finally relaxed, now sure you had no other prospects to worry about.

The pair tried to appear unaffected, of course they would try to hide their disappointment “Of course, sorry” Jayce started walking back to his own desk and Viktor started putting on his protective gear when you interrupted their moping.

“... but we can get back to this discussion as soon as we submit this project”

Their happiness was just as palpable as their previous sulking.

You all got back to work and, to your excitement, the night ended up going better than expected. You even got to go back to your dorm room an hour earlier than expected.

It seemed almost as if your two partners had a new reason to work harder.

…

Extra:

“Viktor, I will actually murder you if you don’t tell me where you bought these” You took one last bit out of the strawberry pie, which had now arrived on schedule.

“I don’t think you will be pleased to know. It’s better if you don’t”

“C’mon, it’s not like you went out of your way to get them with Jericho and then made them pass for another bakery’s so no one would scam Jayce”

“...” Viktor remained silent, opting to take a sip of his coffee.

You left it at that. A warm feeling spread through your chest knowing what they were capable of for you.

You really needed to teach Jayce how to haggle, though.

...

#viktor arcane #a/b/o dynamics #jayce talis #jayce x reader #viktor x reader #reader insert #pekkwrites #omegaverse

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spectral-devotee · 2 months ago

Text

Masterlist

Birds of a Feather (ongoing)

Summary: As required by the Piltovian bureaucracy, some paperwork is inevitable (honestly somewhat unnecessary too). During a medical check-up Viktor discovers he is an Alpha and starts a treatment meant to help his overall health improve. Meanwhile two students in the Engineering and Architecture schools are making a name for themselves. Will they come to meet Viktor at the perfect time to make his whole life change for the better? Jayce and Eda (Reader) team up to join the Distinguished Innovators Competition in hopes of creating a better world when an explosion in Jayce’s workshop turns their world upside down. Jayce is expelled and Eda’s political ideas sit badly with the council members. They both need someone to hold them together and help them make their Hextech dreams come true. A certain assistant is up to the task, though.

Chapter 01 Chapter 02 Chapter 03 Chapter 04 Chapter 05 Chapter 06 Chapter 07

----- . ----- . ----- . ----- . -----

Spring will come

Summary:

A collection of ABO ficlets set in my other fic “Birds of a Feather” following the prompt list by @ stmarchmm on Tumblr. Can be read as one-shots, but would make more sense with context.

Day 01 , 02 , 03

#pekkwrites #masterlist

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spectral-devotee · 2 months ago

Text

Birds of a Feather

Link to AO3 Here

Word count: 7.9k

Chapter 06: They met at the cross of three roads

Summary:

Eda goes to Mel, advocating for Jayce and making promises she’s not sure she can uphold. She had to give it a shot, before going into heat, right?

Jayce loses hope of ever going back to normal and is about to end it all before Heimerdinger’s assistant finds him at his lowest and decides to help him out, joining his Hextech dream.

After all is said and done, Councilor Medarda decides to give them another opportunity at a trial and the pair of inventors leave for the night. Everything goes smoothly until Viktor finds an unexpected guest in his home…

She began running like she hadn’t in a while. Memories flooded her head in flashes. She remembered the first time she visited Piltover, how she used to run and jump across buildings like it was a reflex. The scrape of the walls grazing her fingers, the roughness of the stone pews against her feet, the clear air hitting her face as she ascended from the sumps.

‘Of course, there’s only two more months left before Progress Day! Surely a patron of the brightest minds in Piltover would come by the Academy to check on her protégés’ Eda thought as she drank the contents of the vial Sky left for her.

Ah, good memories of her days in Zaun indeed.

The flask was much smaller than she imagined. Four hours may have been a stretch. In any case, Eda had to make this operation quick.

The liquid tasted like alcohol with a twist of cranberry honey, if she had to pin the flavor. It burned all the way as it went down her throat, yet she would not describe it as unpleasant. Maybe she was used to the warmth by now, but it was a welcome kind of sensation. She noticed the scent change almost immediately. Her smell was lost to the crowd, a feat unthinkable only a couple of meters back.

She ran all the way to the West wing of the Piltover Academy, a feat easier said than done.

There she had met several of the students under Councilor Medarda’s care over there. Mostly inventors and engineers, with some artists sprinkled here and there. Truth be told, Eda had spoken to Mel very few times over the years.

Most Councilors were not close, let alone friends, but they would meet outside the council chamber from time to time to discuss business.

During those reunions Eda noticed Mel had a thing for progress, they all did, but Mel was the only one to try and boost others’ talents. While she was not a strict patron, she did show a few hints of disappointment every time one of the students she sponsored wasn’t up to her standards. She gave the best of herself, and expected nothing else in return.

There was a certain kind of urgency in Mel, a hunger none of her protégés had yet to quell.

Eda was well aware of Mel’s fascination for revolutionary inventions, everyone who paid a grain of attention would notice it, that was no secret. It seemed like almost… a desperate effort to put Piltover on the map.

The possibilities with Hextech may be the key to get Mel on her side. The park would need to wait a little longer. Not ideal in the slightest, nevertheless it would have to do. The time will come when it’s right.

Eda continued until droplets of sweat started to form over her brow. She was about to pass the rehearsal room the musicians used to practice when a most exquisite chorus of instruments rang through the hall she was walking by.

A door leading to one of the auditoriums was open, and when Eda peeked her head in, she was amazed to see a classroom full with the University’s orchestra. They were playing one of the many old operas dedicated to the goddess Janna.

Her feet seemed to move on their own and, by the time she realized what she was doing, she was already sitting down at the last row of chairs, near the very end of the auditorium. It was almost like sleepwalking. Many students played well enough, but others seemed to paint a canvas with their instruments.

“A stunning display, isn’t it?”

Eda almost jumped from the suddenness of the voice beckoning to her. She turned to face the same woman she had been looking for: Councilor Mel Medarda. She sat only a row in front of her. Her robes hid most of her face and her hair, but the golden makeup underneath was an unmistakable sign. How had she not noticed her?

“Councilor Medarda, fancy meeting you here of all places”

“Talking like you weren’t looking for me, Miss Eda”

Of course, it takes a strategist to know another. Eda smiled at her “What gave me away?”

Mel thought for a moment before speaking “We’ve met in different scenarios over the years. The opera, art galleries, museums, your private ship near the docks, to name a few, but you’ve always made an effort to avoid the lot of us at the Academy” She kept her gaze locked in the orchestra “I’ve thought of this place as your haven for you to use as a shield from reality. Now, coincidentally, after your friend has been the subject of a trial, you’ve found me here” Mel then faced Eda “Isn’t that quite unusual?”

Eda chuckled lightly, she had greatly underestimated her “You’ve got me all figured out, Councilor” She imitated Mel and turned her gaze from the students, now looking directly at her. “Then may I try to persuade you?”

“You’ve always been up for the challenge, haven’t you?”

“So I’ve been told”

“What were you two actually working on? Mr. Talis’ blueprints suggest only the initial use of runes and Hex crystals to power complex systems, but little else regarding innovation”

“If I may, Miss Medarda,” Eda stood up from her seat and walked over to Mel’s row, she sat down next to her. She seemed interested at the change in attitude “allow me lo let you in on a little secret Jayce and I discussed, but haven’t gotten around to expand on”

“You may”

“I’m assuming you’ve heard of my own work, the park and all that”

“The project Councilor Salo shut three years ago, if I’m not mistaken. Impressive, but little to no revenue to show for itself”

“Yep, that’s the one, well…” Eda inched closer to Mel “My brother, just like you, is a business person. He has made me aware of the profit issues. Yes, it’s still in my plans, but the park is one little… tangent of a bigger project” Mel hadn’t moved an inch. That meant to keep going. “Us, the duMarquis, have noticed an increase in contraband over the last three years after the riot at the bridge. Not to mention the ever present risk of damage to all merchandise transported via trains, airships and boats. Believe me, I’ve seen the statistics. It’s my business after all”

“It is not wise to talk about the faults of your own company to one of you biggest investors, I must say”

“Hold on, I’m gettin’ to it” Eda cleared her throat. Suddenly the sweet flavor of Sky’s heat suppressor permeated in her tongue. A side effect, maybe? “-As far as I know, many of the resources Piltover requires are brought from outside the city walls in the duMarquis transports, yes?” Mel’s attention had long left the student’s orchestra and sat solely on Eda’s words ”What if I told you we may have found a new way to transport everything you desire in a safer, faster, low-cost manner?”

“Always the entertainer, Eda. Carry on”

“Jayce discovered a way to use the runes as a catalyst for an object’s function. A generator using that power may increase its power by twice its potential at the very least. If we were given the chance to participate in the Distinguished Innovators Competition, we could show you how a stabilized Hextech gemstone could be able to power forms of transportations, decreasing times of transport, increasing profits and how, in turn, they could be a bigger investment than our current options available for the market”

“How much time would it take for them to be implemented within the city’s transportation system?” The music started to increase its tempo.

“Somewhere between five to ten years, if Jayce’s calculations are right. It all depends on how many investors we get a hold of”

“Hmm”

“I think Piltover has a lot of potential, Miss Medarda, but potential does not equal reality, practice, nor action” Eda spoke softly “We’ve become complacent, too reliant on Noxian technology” That was sure to hit a nerve “When was the last time a Piltovian invention truly broke boundaries? When did we last show the entirety of Runeterra what we’re capable of?” Eda stopped for a second to catch her breath, the violins started to raise their tempo.

Eda spoke with a dry mouth, something was happening, but she had no time to care “Piltover is crowded with brilliant minds, this Academy is proof of that. The students you’ve sponsored have all demonstrated talent, vision, skills, yes, but how many of them can you truly say have left a mark on the world?”

The music in the background reached a crescendo, almost accentuating Eda’s words.

“Only a fool would let this opportunity go”

Suddenly a scent started radiating from Eda, far stronger than what would be usual for an Omega. It smelled of her, only riper, like a peach ready for picking. Was her time already up?

“You’ve made an interesting pitch, I must say, Eda. I would like to discuss this topic furth…” Mel turned to look at her when a spurge of ‘omega in raging heat’ reached her nose. A lesser Alpha might have reacted poorly to the stimulus, but Mel managed to grab a cloth and bring it to her nose. It provided little coverage, but it was better than nothing at all.

Mel heard footsteps running out of the auditorium. The scent seemed to call for her, however she remained seated.

By the time Mel recovered Eda was nowhere to be seen. The air dissipated and gave way to the usual smell of dusty fabric and the stale wood of the seats.

She had no time to think before Elora reappeared and joined her watching the students play.

“I’m back, Miss. Medarda, sorry for the wait” Elora noticed the extended silence and whiff of ripeness “Did anything happen while I was gone?”

“Nothing at all, Elora,” Mel paused. “Do you happen to know when the Talis’ boy equipment is set to be torn down?”

“I believe tomorrow morning, why?”

“No reason”

…

Eda ran once more, now with the grace and flair of a runaway bride.

Everything around her seemed to slow down.

Everyone’s faces turned to blurs, their words sounded like distant echoes.

Why was her body burning? She still had a couple of hours left, didn’t she? Maybe four hours were too big of a stretch, she’d have to inform Sky of that.

Eda turned a corner and continued running south, jumping over a few stone fences dispersed around the academy gardens. A few flowers stuck to her clothes as she ran through a bush.

Jayce came to her mind then.

His lovely smile made her heart explode and her stomach turn. Her skin tickled with a slight heat beneath. How she wished to wrap herself around him, to engulf him with her scent and join them in an indiscernible mix.

It made her larynx scream, her ears go deaf and all air to escape from her lungs.

Love hit her like a bullet right then and there. If someone were to offer her Jayce’s company in exchange for everything she had ever owned… hell, she might have given it all up.

Her legs led her away from the campus, something in the back of her mind was aware of the danger populated areas presented for her in this state. She would not be able to make it back to her dorm like that, there was a great risk of spurring other Alphas on her way there.

Where to run?

She turned another corner and stumbled over the Master’s villa. A place for the school’s professors to live on campus, she had read once in one of her library runs. Eda noted how most houses were empty, only a handful of professors would use these amenities.

It would do.

…

The creak of the wooden door resounded in the almost sterile room that stared back at her. Eda tried to turn back after seeing a few papers scattered along the floor, but an abrupt jab inside her alerted her of an incoming heatwave. She had no time left before it arrived in full force, so she did the only thing she could think of: she closed the door behind her.

By the time the professor occupying this house came back she would surely be out.

All the furniture was arranged exactly as the floorplans she had seen indicated. Pale green walls welcomed her into the living room. There was a small burgundy leather settee next to an oak shelf spilling with papers and hardcover books. The floors were mostly wood, but the kitchenette and the laundry area were tiled.

If she remembered correctly, all the houses in the Master’s villa had a nesting space in the main bedroom. She could use that while the rightful owner came back.

The entire house smelled very very faintly of cinnamon, if she were any less observant she might’ve thought it belonged to a Beta, but there was a twinge in it that screamed Alpha. She should’ve felt distressed, normally she would, but there was also a softness to the scent that assured her that she was safe.

Eda sat down next to the bed, in the space that would usually hold a nest. Seeing as there was none, one could only guess this Alpha hadn’t even attempted to make one since they arrived.

Thankfully, Eda accepted the challenge.

…

By the dawn of the second day after his trial, Jayce was sure to have lost everything.

His own mother had turned her back to him, his name and reputation were tainted beyond repair. He was not allowed to see Caitlyn anymore, Cassandra warned him to never get close to their property ever again, and Salo gave strict orders to the guards, he was not allowed to see Eda and, somehow, that hurt him the most.

He tried to give her a letter, a personal message in case they had to part indefinitely. Had it reached her hands?

And how could he forgive himself even then? She entrusted him with her greatest treasure, only for his recklessness to damn it all.

He dragged his feet to the place where it all went to hell.

Jayce stood on the sixth floor of the factory, the same were he used to live and work in.

He sat down for a second, questioning every decision he had made until now. None seemed like a mistake, but the turn of events raised some doubts. He mindlessly caressed the gemstone engraved in his bracelet before taking it off. He left it atop a table next to his House crest.

The distant sounds of the city that used to cheer him now boomed in an ominous chorus, like they knew what he was about to do.

Jayce set one foot in front of another until he stood just over the border of what used to be a balcony. The air stroked his face with the same softness he dreamed Eda’s hands would do.

He had failed her greatly, that would be his greatest regret.

Just as he was about to take one last step, a voice resounded in the room.

“Am I interrupting?”

“The hell’s your problem?” Jayce stumbled back to the building, his heartbeat had gone through the roof in an instant. He noticed the same handsome Alpha that had taken all of his things into Heimerdinger’s custody, though now he was holding a different book in his hands “What’s that? Another list with my name on it?”

“Actually, yes, but only because you signed your notes. Every page I might add,” His amber eyes locked on Jayce’s “unlike your partner. Eh, a little egotistical, don’t you think?”

At the mention of his friend, Jayce became defensive again “Is that why you came? To insult me?” His voice almost broke, the whirlwind of emotions in him about to explode.

“No, no. I was… intrigued by what you said at the trial” The Alpha came closer to Jayce, his cane making limited sound over his voice.

“That makes you the only one”

“Yeah, well, I wanted to talk about your work” A memory of his first meeting with Eda came to Jayce’s mind “This Hextech theory of yours”

“It’s not a theory” He interjected before Eda’s smile appeared to haunt him “I saw with my own eyes what magic can do, the lives it could save. You’ve got no idea how beautiful it is” He took in a mouthful of air “And now it’s gone. None of them believed in me”

“Nobody’s ever believed in me” He stood next to Jayce looking over the city’s landscape “A poor cripple from the undercity,” Jayce looked at him out of the corner of his eye “I was an outsider the moment I stepped foot in Piltover. I didn’t have the benefits of a patron or a name. I simply believed in myself. Which is why I’m here, because I think you’re onto something,”

Jayce was petrified. Never in his life did he think a person would be there for him, let alone two.

“I want to help you complete your research”

“No one thinks it can be done”

“When you’re going to change the world, don’t ask for permission” The man gave Jayce his bracelet back.

Jayce took it with the same intent he had taken the gemstone engraved to it many years ago “I don’t even know your name”

“It’s Viktor”

…

“This entire time I thought I needed to dampen the oscillations” Jayce analyzed Viktor’s annotations. Finally he had found someone who understood what he was talking about.

“The crystals will only stabilize at high frequency” Viktor grabbed the previously discarded chalk piece and underlined an equation, matching it to another’s result.

“You have to-”

“Crank it” Jayce added.

“Yes, crank it” Viktor made an awkward gesture, he was visibly not used to informal talking.

“It works!” Jayce's happiness was hard to hide in moments like these.

“Eh… on paper”

“Well, we could test it if we had access to my equipment” His hand met his face, the past few day’s problems hung over him once more.

“Which is being destroyed tomorrow” Ah, he knew he was forgetting something.

“What?”

“Oh. I, I meant to tell you”

“That research is everything. Our whole life!” Jayce stood up and began pacing around the room. Viktor thought ‘Our… Is he talking about his partner?’ “Maybe if we showed them the equations, they’d let us-”

“We need more than promises. We need proof”

“Not without the crystals. The enforcers took them all. They’re gone”

“Yeah, locked away in Heimerdinger’s lab next to the other blueprints and models…” Viktor took out the keys given to him by his superior.

“No. No. No. If we’re wrong…”

“Better be right then”

“Why? Why would you risk this?”

“Do you think it was my life’s ambition to be an assistant?” Viktor looked at him “Scientists seek discoveries, ways to make the world a better place. This Hextech dream of yours has the potential to do that” He omitted the part where he wanted to inquire more about the Park his partner proposed. Jayce had seemed very defensive whenever he brought up any questions about it. He would get to the bottom of it eventually, there was no need to push any further now.

Jayce walked over to him, a small smile in his face “Our Hextech dream… I almost forgot. You have to meet her, she’s not gonna believe this”

“Who?”

“My… our partner. Her name is Eda” Jayce put an arm around Viktor “You sound just like her when we met. You’re gonna love her” Viktor looked at him, surprised “Don’t worry, she’s gonna love you too”

…

Very few times did Viktor have to sneak into the Academy’s halls during the night. He had not lived in the dorms, nor had he gone through the usual experiences a student would. Going out in the middle of the night to parties or making out in the halls hiding from the prefects was out of the question, he was far too occupied for any of that.

He didn’t expect the experience to thrill him like it did at the moment. Jayce was on the lookout behind him, watching over the guard’s steps while he held onto his pocket lamp.

Viktor went through the many keys he kept in his pocket. The first two were the keys to his house in the Master’s villa, though he rarely used them due to the fact the place was mostly deserted. The third key opened the first bolt to Heimerdinger’s office.

He put the key into the lock and turned it. It rang in the correct manner. “So far so good” As he looked for the next key a light blinded him momentarily.

“Hm. Willing to risk exile for your endeavor. That’s quite the conviction”

“Councilor!” Jayce answered back immediately. Fear ran down his nerves again. “What a surprise to see you, huh?”

“Wait a second, this isn’t my bedroom. How could I have.. heh”

Mel stood still watching them as they stumbled over their words at the same time.

“Please, we can prove that it works”

“Hmm. Your friend has already spoken to me on your behalf. An interesting chat, I must say” She looked down at them “Miss duMarquis made many promises that I think you might have missed to recall on your trial, Mr. Talis” Jayce looked at her surprised, but honestly it baffled him how he hadn’t thought Eda would try to help him in whatever manner she could “She was sure that you’d be able to get the runes to work as soon as you got the chance to get back into the lab. How is tonight any different from the other day at the Kiramman’s factory?”

“We figured out how to stabilize it”

Mel looked over at Viktor “You’re the professor’s assistant”

“No, he’s my new partner” Jayce put an arm in front of Viktor. Had Viktor not known any different, he would’ve thought Jayce to be an Alpha.

Mel’s sharp gaze hadn’t left her face since she caught them sneaking around the halls “You better make every minute count. I’ll be assessing your project closely” She walked towards the main hall, ready to distract the security guard “One night, gentlemen. Impress me or I suggest you pack your bags”

…

About an hour later a blue light emanated from Heimerdinger’s office. Bizarre sounds could be heard from the other side of the door. Voices shouted at each other, mumbling something about stabilizing the crystals. The first sight of rays were reported only a few minutes ago. The enforcers patrolling the tower had called over for Councilor Heimerdinger immediately.

“Open up”

“Stop this lunacy at once!”

Viktor looked back at Jayce “They’re almost through. No pressure”

“That sounds like pressure!” Jayce continued augmenting the speed of the crystals, hoping to achieve the same effect he had witnessed when he was a child.

He turned the speed gear a few more times and before he knew it a silent explosion of pure light illuminated the room. He didn’t notice when he began hovering over Heimerdinger and the enforcers, less so when Viktor started ‘swimming’ mid air.

“You’ve actually done it” Cecil’s voice cut the mystique of the situation, bringing them back to reality “but just because it can be done doesn’t mean…” He faced upwards to see his pupils were not even paying any attention to him “Will you please stop hovering?”

“I’m not sure how to do that, sir”

“This is not what Piltover’s future looks like, my dear boys”

“That’s for the Council to decide” Mel entered the room, fascinated by what she saw “Perhaps it’s time for the era of magic”

“Huh. Hextech. For the era of Hextech” Heimerdinger noted how Mel’s gaze had not left Jayce for a second.

As the nucleus stabilized, the energy in the atmosphere dissipated and the boys descended slowly. All enforcers were sent back to their quarters after they had made sure everyone was alright.

Jayce noticed Viktor’s cane lay broken on the floor. He hadn’t seen when his new partner used it to lock the door from the enforcers efforts a few minutes prior. Viktor tried to walk, but after a few meters his staggering became obvious. Jayce quickly drew nearer and put his arm under Viktor’s own to help him lift weight off his leg.

Viktor looked at his eyes then and found himself amazed at how worried Jayce seemed to be for him. Very few times had anyone outside his family looked at him the same way. His heart began beating faster, but he cut that thought before it went anywhere. Then he managed to grab a hold of a chair and sat down for a minute.

Heimerdinger stayed back to discuss the matter at hand with Mel. ‘We must take this to the other Councilors’ ‘Far too dangerous’ ‘This is not a matter of only one’s judgement, we need to hear what the others have to say’, among other things could be heard. Even from a distance, Jayce noticed Heimerdinger’s disapproval and Mel’s defence of their case.

“Whatever the verdict may be,” Viktor’s voice loomed in the night. “I think you two have great ideas. I can only thank you for letting me be a part of this project”

“Hextech is the easy part, to be honest” Jayce spoke and Viktor turned to look at him expectantly “It can be used in many ways, as far as I can tell. We just have to crack the code to make it work” Jayce sighed like all the stress of the day had left him “I’m sure Eda made a pitch to Councilor Medarda with something we are yet to invent. She’s like that, always running off to make sure I will be alright no matter the cost”

“She’s a good friend, then. Is she not?”

“She’s the best thing that has ever happened to me, that’s why I have to make this right. She… has a project of her own that requires Hextech”

“Oh, the ‘New World’ with the Park and all that” Jayce looked at him, taken aback. He already suspected Viktor had gone over the details while he sorted all his stuff “I didn’t mean to intrude. It’s just rare for Piltovians to worry over Zaun’s needs”

Heimerdinger and Mel walked over to the pair once more before Jayce could respond.

“We’ve decided to give you another chance to defend your case, Mr. Talis” Mel spoke softly

“The details will be sorted as soon as we get a hold of the other Councilors” Cecil continued “Their opinions must be taken into consideration, yes. Now, I must tell you, my boy, that this time around Miss. Eda must accompany you”

“Can Viktor be present too?”

Heimerdinger stood appalled, but regained his composure quickly “Ah, yes, I suppose he is involved after all. Alright, if he’s a part of this project, he must be present”

“You’ll be given an official announcement tomorrow evening,” Mel’s voice rang from the other side of the room, already near the door “go rest for now. We’ll take it from here”

…

Jayce helped Viktor over to the Master’s villa as best as he could. He discovered his new friend to be quite stubborn regarding his assistance. Maybe it’d been about 10 minutes from the main gates to the entrance of the villa. Not a long walk by far, but enough to tire Viktor out. Jayce let him off at a corner looking over a small cul-de-sac. The houses centered around a fountain with various marble sculptures that looked somewhat old compared to the entirety of Piltover.

“That’ll be fine, Jayce. I can walk by myself from here”

“Are you sure? I can-”

“Please, you’ve done more than enough already. I’ll be alright, I can make it to my house from here easily” Viktor leaned over the wall, careful no to step over the irregular stone slab path brimming with grass that led to his residence “I will see you tomorrow… no, that’s not right, later, today. I expect to see you at 1pm sharp at my lab. Correct?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there. Uhm, by the way” Viktor fixed his gaze to Jayce’s lips, it was hard to deny how… alluring he looked right now “I will try to bring Eda along, last time I saw her… she was quite busy, but I will make sure you two meet as soon as possible”

“Take care Jayce, I’m sure she’ll be ecstatic about the news” Viktor waved goodbye and walked over to his apartment.

The usual silence of the Master’s villa welcomed him once more. Every step he took resounded in the walls of the empty houses. The place was an effort from the school’s founders to keep its brightest minds close. They were also the first prototype of modulated living spaces in all of Piltover. Some other remnants of those times could be found deep in the city center, but residential living had changed considerably since then.

Viktor knew something was amiss as he turned a corner to reach his home, yet he couldn’t pin it. Everything looked the same, even the flowers that insisted on growing outside his door looked just as they did before he left for work that morning. Dazed, he turned the knob to his home and immediately recognised what was wrong.

Someone got into his home. Not only someone, but an omega in heat.

…

Eda woke up from the nap she took at some point late in the afternoon. She thought herself capable of making a simple nest, but the task proved itself far more difficult than she expected. She managed to grab a few bed sheets and arranged them along the cushioned spot left specifically for nesting.

There were very few pillows in this Alpha’s house and all the shirts she found in the closet were rigorously cleaned, ironed and folded in neat piles. The same was true for the sweaters, cardigans, ties and vests. Albeit, they were not folded, but hanging from metal hooks.

While the Alpha’s scent was very welcome, there was nowhere near enough of it. It seemed like this person was reluctant on not leaving a trace behind. If only she had Jayce’s pillowcase, just like last time…

At the very least five hours must have gone by… she searched for the clock she had previously seen hanging on a wall. Yeah, no, scratch that, it was now a couple of minutes past midnight.

Maybe she would be able to make it to her dorm now? Eda tried to stand up, but her legs wobbled uncontrollably.

She leaned over the bed, the mattress protector was the only piece of cloth that had a stronger scent attached to it, but she was powerless to bring it into the nest at the moment.

What was going on? She was usually more capable of taking care of herself during her heats.

Was this a reaction to Sky’s remedy or was it that her Omega noticed something in this Alpha and made her unable to run?

She had heard of mates being reunited because their instincts reacted stronger to each other’s pheromones. Maybe this was her body trying to get her laid or maybe she was going mad being surrounded by one of the most exquisite cinnamon scents in the entire world and both the Beta she loved and the mysterious Alpha she desperately wanted to meet were not there for her.

Eda tossed and turned, wishing to catch some sleep before she had to go.

That was until the turn of a knob in the living alerted her of the house owner's arrival. She quickly crawled over to the bedroom door, which she made sure to lock before she fell asleep just in case something like this happened.

“Is someone there?” A voice with an accent came from the entrance, he had not dared to put a step inside. Eda felt guilty at that, it was not his fault she had to hide in his home.

“A- Ah, yes. I’m so sorry. You see, I was running some… er… errands, yes, errands, earlier today. Suddenly my heat arrived and I had nowhere else to run to without putting myself at risk. I remembered these houses were mostly empty and when I got in, I didn’t have time to make it to the dorms anymore and… Don’t worry, I think I can manage to go now, I just need to-”

“Don’t go” His accent made chills run down her spine. Well, to be fair, at this moment anything the Alpha did could get a reaction out of her. She heard the front door close and his steps got near, but he never did try to get inside the room she was in.

“Huh?”

“Forgive me, I mean…” He cleaned his throat. “If you’re just starting a heat, it would be a big risk to go back to the dorms on your own. Believe me, even with my help, it would be quite the odyssey” Eda leaned over the door, perplexed. Sadly, he was right, it would be a huge and dangerous gamble. “Why don’t you stay the night?”

“You’re too nice, thank you…” Eda paused, waiting for him to say his name, but his answer never came back. “I promise to make it up to you one day, it was not my intention to cause any trouble”

“Don’t pay it any mind, at least you are safe here” His steps receded to the living, she guessed by the sound of someone lying down on the leather couch.

They stood in silence for a while. Eda began to think he might have fallen asleep when muffled sounds of pain came from where the stranger laid. She thought about going back to her slumber, but the sounds became worrying after a few minutes.

She couldn’t bear the curiosity any longer and opened the door slightly, if only to take a peek at this mysterious Alpha.

What she saw perplexed her. His thin frame laid spread on the sofa, still using the school mandated uniform. His clothes clung to him as if every piece was fixed by a tailor. One leg rested atop the couch while the other one was settled over a green ottoman.

Coarse brown hair fell onto his pale face dimly illuminated by the moonlight, but if his closed fist, clenched jaw and strained breathing were any clues to go by, he was in pain.

A lot, by the looks of it.

He held his arm over his eyes, withholding them from her attentive gaze.

“I’m guessing it’s your leg?”

He rose in surprise, not expecting her at the moment.

The sudden movement got another jab of pain to run through him. Again, he stifled his whimpers not wanting to appear weak in the face of the stranger that got into his house.

“You guess correctly” The man exhaled deeply and regained his breath “It’s nothing, you can go back to sleep” He went back to his previous position on the couch, resting his head over a stack of cushions protecting him from the wooden handles it had on both sides. That had to be uncomfortable.

“I don’t think ‘nothing’ would make me unable to sleep due to unbearable chronic pain” Eda opened the door a few inches more, getting a better look of him.

Their eyes met and Eda swore she saw his pupils dilate. The amber color of his eyes suited him. She also noted how complementary his scent was to such a beautiful face.

Eda stood up as best as she could and advanced towards him. The Alpha covered his nose with his own vest, trying to keep her scent from awakening something within him as she wobbled over and sat next to him.

She studied him carefully before speaking.

“Nothing is going to happen, y’know? Alphas ruts getting triggered by Omega heats are just old wives tales, besides” Eda got even closer to his leg, analyzing it with the scarce light that seeped from the curtains. “If you were to react to my heat, you would’ve done so already. It seems like you have excellent control over your instincts- Uhm… may I?” She signaled over to his leg.

He nodded and Eda scooted over to take a look at him.

He watched her every move, how she lifted the hem of his dress pants with the utmost care and how she studied the various marks along his ‘bad’ leg.

“Do you have anything for it? The pain, I mean, I can bring it over”

“First drawer, bathroom dresser”

“On it” Eda ran, or rather, staggered, to the bathroom and back, now holding onto a pill bottle.

He popped two pills into his hand and dry-swallowed them. Now he only had to wait until they took effect. A comfortable silence fell upon them, the only sound for a few minutes was that of their slow breathing.

“I always expected heats to be… different. You seem to have taken it fairly well”

“Well, yeah, they are usually worse, but having you around helps quite a lot. You actually smell particularly nice” His dumbfounded face made her chuckle “I’m not flirting, calm down, it just helps with the hormones and all that. Besides, this is clearly not my first rodeo, just the first time I’ve had company” Eda decided to play around with him just a little bit “What about you, pretty boy? Is this your first time too?”

“I- Hmm” He coughed, taken aback at the barely disguised innuendo “It’s certainly unusual for me to help an Omega in heat. It is also unusual for a stranger to break into my house and tease me but, as you can see, coincidences do happen”

Eda chuckled at that, he had a sense of humour after all!

The pair laid there in the living, waiting for either his medication to kick in or a heatwave to strike her again. In which case they agreed on her going back to the main room and locking herself in until it passed. They ended up talking about nothing in particular. It appeared like Orpheus was too busy to bother them at that moment.

The conversation seemed to flow effortlessly.

“Yeah, so” Eda said “Then he threw the model into the trash. THE. TRASH. Can you believe it?” She continued combing her fingers through his hair. After a while the cushions had proven too uncomfortable for him, so Eda offered her lap until he was able to fall asleep.

“Certainly your tutor had his reasons. You arrived late, left without a word, and managed to get your project disqualified. Any respectable professor would be mad”

“I swear to Janna I will stop brushing your hair if you don’t say ‘sike’ right now”

“- but! He was at fault for apprehending you in that manner. None of those actions should’ve mattered on the final note of your project” He immediately corrected his stance. A smile formed in his lips as he appreciated her posture become relaxed once more. “Maybe if only someone had gotten there on time…”

He received a smack to his forehead. “Ack!”

“I told you it was my brother’s fault! He wanted me to organize this whole event in only a month’s time! It was crazy” She let out a breath “I’m almost sure he only did it to make me fail”

“A serious accusation on your behalf”

“He’s like that” She wondered how many times he had set her up for failure.

In retrospect she now saw how Salo had intended for her to not be able to get there on time. From putting her in charge of the preparations for the competition (with very few days to spare) to how her carriage presented a mysterious malfunction that forced her to get there only 10 minutes before closing time.

Eda had told the Alpha the story about the days leading up to her participation in the Distinguished Innovators Competition, leaving out many details of course. She had failed to mention the ‘event’ she had helped organize was the decoration of the Science Plaza, that her brother was one of the most hated Councilors, or that she submitted the most polemic project anyone had ever seen. Little things like those.

They had unspokenly decided to not say their names. Maybe out of consideration, maybe because they feared to misunderstand their current situation. In any case he listened with utmost respect, even telling her about his own participation, how nervous he had been.

“So you’ve told me. He sounds like a piece of work, not to say a complete idiot, if I may”

Eda smiled at that.

Unbeknownst to her, he had also failed to mention that he was a part of the jury the year she participated, and that he thought her project was one of the many he had forgotten about, but he was not about to break that to her.

“Siblings are like that, I guess”

“Not really” He turned to look another way “I had siblings, they would’ve never let anything like that happen to me, much less of their own accord”

Before Eda could ask any further, another wave of her heat struck her. Softly, she moved his head to give her space to move off the couch. He noticed the increase of her scent and guessed what was occurring.

“Welp, it was nice while it lasted. I better go back” Eda tried to stand up, but her legs buckled once more.

“Does… does it hurt?” His voice sounded timid, like he wanted to ask more but was afraid of her answer.

“Not right now, but it will in a few minutes” Her skin became sensitive, her clothes began bothering her. Too many layers, too hot.

“How can I help you?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know” She joked yet his face remained stern “Oh, you’re serious”

“You’ve helped me alleviate the pain, it is only fair for me to make it up to you”

“No, no, wait. Me getting the meds for you was only a little favor! I still owe you for letting me stay here during my heat!”

It was his time to chuckle “Well, then let me repay you for the favor you’ve not yet done for me… is that right? The phrasing came out more strained than I anticipated”

She laughed audibly. “Alright, yeah, no. It made total sense, just… promise not to make it weird”

He jokingly put a hand to his chest and raised the other one “I solemnly swear-”

“Aaaand that’s enough. Come here” She leaned over the settee, grabbing a hold of the handles. He mirrored her and they leaned on each other for support as they made their way to his room.

“Talk about the blind leading the blind”

“Very funny, mister. Just let me…” They rested on the doorway before making their way to the nesting space she haphazardly managed to put together before his arrival.

It consisted mainly of his blankets, pillows and a few shirts he had missed to discard correctly in the laundry bin now relocated over the cushioned space intended for this exact use.

“An impressive display. Give it more one more day and maybe it’ll be halfway done”

“Ok, you know what? It’s harder to put together a nest when you’re in the middle of a heatwave!” As if on cue, her legs almost gave out. He managed to hold her before letting her down slowly.

By the time she reached the blankets they noticed their position. He held her waist with his right hand while his left one rested just over her head. Instead of drawing their gazes in shame, they giggled while he settled next to her on the floor.

They laid there only a few seconds before she spoke again. “Turn around”

To her amazement, he made no comments and did as she said. He was probably more nervous than she was.

He turned his back to her and the few noises of clothes being taken off were enough to get his imagination going. Were they about to-?

“Okay, you can turn around again” He followed her command once more and saw her in only the bare minimum clothing; her shirt, stockings and dress pants were left discarded by her feet. She looked expectantly at him “Can I…?”

“Uhm. Yeah, of course”

Eda scooted closer to him and brought her arm around his chest, resting her head over his shoulder. He pulled her closer, responding to her touch instinctively.

She brought her face closer to his, clinging to his body for dear life.

He felt her lowering her face, now directly hovering over the scent gland near his neck.

And then nothing happened.

He paused, expecting another movement from her, but none came.

Only a small snoring sound gave him any clue of what had occurred: the Omega had fallen asleep in his arms.

Almost as if prompted by her, Viktor began to doze off too.

Finally sleep had claimed him for the night.

…

The sun shone directly into his eyes.

Viktor rose up from the nesting accommodations looking to his side. He lifted up the blanket only to find no one there. Had he hallucinated the whole affair?

He stood up and grabbed the cane he left in the closet in case of emergencies. Had there not been the same ripe scent he was sure to have kept safely in his memory, Viktor would be sure no one had been there to begin with.

The birds chirped as he made his way to the kitchenette, ready for breakfast.

Then he saw it had already been made.

Over the table stood a plate with eggs and bacon, next to it a bowl full with a mix of peach, apple and blueberries called over to him. Even two, now toasted, slices of the sweetbread he had bought two days prior were set on a plate for him to grab.

The smell of chamomile tea brought him back to reality. There, over his stove, a kettle was still warm and full with water.

That’s when he noticed a paper stuck under his breakfast plate. It read:

‘I woke up earlier than you (you’re a very heavy sleeper!) and took the liberty to help myself to some breakfast. Hope you don’t mind, I left some for you too.

I am incredibly thankful to you for letting me stay, more so to have had the pleasure of talking. To my understanding you might be a teacher (why else would you be in the Master’s villa? Duh) and I am a student. I do not wish to make this any harder for you nor I.

Don’t worry, thanks to you I feel renewed and I am sure I can make it to my dorm.

I swear to make it up to you one day, just you wait.’

While the note was not signed, something about it seemed familiar. He folded the letter and put it in his pocket.

The clock read 10:30am and he still had to eat, take a shower and leave for the Academy to meet Jayce at his lab.

Everything regarding the Omega would have to wait, he had to make it in time to meet his new partners.

…

Notes:

I had way too much fun writing this chapter, you may have noticed that fact as it is the longest one yet. I considered breaking it up again and making it a 3 part kinda chapter, but decided against it as the cliffhanger felt too forced previously.

The three of them have finally met!!!! Now they only need to do it at the same time :)

Just like in the last few chapters, it kept getting longer bc I had to incorporate dialogue from the series. I did my best to shorten it as much as possible, but alas, some scenes were much too important to cut.

When I was watching the first season I always wondered what Mel was doing near Heimerdinger’s office after hours. I don’t think there was ever a canonical answer, so I decided to write Eda into it.

She’s a little devious mastermind! She really thinks she can play anyone, even those of her kind. I can only let the conniving creature have her try.

Sorry for the wait, I have to get back into writing my thesis and I’ve been writing this fic as a hobby/distraction, which is honestly kind of an unhealthy habit, but I will try to balance it out more. Updates from this point on may take longer, but be assured that I already love this fic and I intend to finish it! (Besides, we still have a few emotional rollercoasters left before it’s even close to ending)

I’ll probably edit this chapter later, I just wanted to finish writing it and post it as soon as possible.

As always, kudos and comments are welcome and appreciated!

#jayce x reader #viktor x reader #viktor arcane #jayce talis #a/b/o dynamics #reader insert #pekkwrites

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spectral-devotee · 2 months ago

Text

Guessing Game

For Valentine I paired up with @uvobreakmylegs to post an Illumi fic :D This is a long ass fic (which was also the working title of this one) and I'm surprised Tumblr lets me post this in one go. Hope you enjoy!

Warnings: A/B/O-setting in college, Yandere! Illumi x Reader, alpha! Illumi, beta! Reader, violence, classism, weird misogyny, non-con, blood, somnophilia, masturbation, 26k words

You sat on your bed with your back against the wall, typing away on your laptop. The small space you’d claimed on your bed was cluttered with textbooks, notebooks, and random bits of your life, all fighting for attention. You were supposed to be focusing on the upcoming group project, texting your classmate, but in a form of semi-productive procrastination, you’d decided to do some readings first, summarizing them in a separate document, trying to forget the bit of anxiety the assignment was already causing you.

The current readings were on the ‘dichotomy of social status in a post-transformative hegemony’ and to be fair you hadn’t really absorbed a single word in more than thirty minutes.

With a sigh you put away your laptop. You’d read the abstract before class tomorrow.

Closing your eyes you pushed away some stuff, slid down the wall until your shoulder reached the mattress and curled in on your side, snuggling into the bed for a bit.

…

You turned to your other side, facing the wall. Closing your eyes, you took a deep breath, counting to five and holding for seven seconds like you’d once seen someone explain in a yoga video.

…

With a frustrated exhale you sat back up. You were too stressed to take a nap, and the only thing that would probably work in calming your overactive mind down, would be to actually do a little work or procrastinate with something fun. The dorm had been mostly vacated when you’d made dinner in the dingy dorm kitchen (ramen with an egg to be fancy) so you probably couldn’t even bother anyone to distract you.

A little work it was.

But that left the group project, since you weren’t gonna read a single word more written by Prof. Reima et al. They’d had their shot.

So all you had to do was grab your phone and send a text to the name that’d been next to yours on the match-up sheet that was posted online earlier today. Just… a little….text.

With an embarrassing fuck yes you were happy no one was around to hear you found out you didn’t have his number and he wasn’t in the class group chat.

Though your happiness was short-lived, since now you were just stressed, with no idea what to do to fix it.

You just really didn’t want to talk to the stranger you’d been assigned.

You didn’t consider yourself awfully difficult to work with, and part of the exercise was of course to work with different people- with different personalities, and still make a good end-product. Nevertheless, you’d secretly hoped to be matched up with Mariah or Bianca, your dorm ‘neighbors’, knowing you could count on them not to procrastinate till the last minute or hand in shit work.

Not that you expected this person to be bad, per se, it was just…

You didn’t know him.

You’d seen him in class, right in the front. He had very long, beautiful black hair that made him stand out from the collection of bed-heads and hoodies up front. The seats next to his were always empty, and when you’d asked around as to why that was, people had confided in you it was because his scent was often strong enough to even unnerve the most confident alpha in class.

Not a problem for beta’s like you, but you tended to follow by example.

The only two words you’d shared with him was a while back when you’d dropped something and instead of picking it up, he’d merely informed you that you’d dropped your keys, even though he was standing next to them. You’d walked back, bent down to grab them and gave him an earnest ‘thank you’, since even if he was a bit weird or rude, at least you didn’t have to call a locksmith or commute back to the classroom to find them.

He had an awfully intense look about him, like a man who couldn’t be paid to smile, and despite being tall, handsome and meticulously groomed, there was something off about him that would dissuade even the bravest from approaching him (all except that red-head alpha from a year up that you’d seen walk with him a few times).

But then there was that little ‘A’ at the end of his name on the sheet—a single letter that carried more weight than it had any right to, making you clench your jaw in frustration before you’d even spoken a word to him. He was an alpha. And as a beta in college, you knew exactly what that usually meant.

Betas were rare enough that it was easy to feel out of place most of the time, caught in the social dynamics of a world that didn’t quite know what to do with you. Lacking the keen sense of scent that alphas and omegas relied on so heavily, you couldn’t pick up on intent or emotion in the same way. That made you clumsier, not out of carelessness but simply because you missed social cues others considered obvious.

It wasn’t your fault, but that didn’t make it any less frustrating when alphas in particular interpreted your missteps as a lack of social intelligence.

The worst part was the fact that you did have a scent. Everyone around could read you like a fucking book, while you had to scramble and try harder just to avoid all kinds of mistakes.

People could hate you, and you’d be none the wiser unless they’d say it out loud, but you couldn’t get even the slightest bit annoyed without someone next to you turning up their nose and knowing.

You couldn’t even consistently wear scent blockers, since they’d yet to be tested on beta’s and so the pharmacist wasn’t allowed to hand them to you. On important days, in the past, you’d stolen some from your uncle, but after getting a really bad fever after taking one too many, the medicine cupboard had been locked.

So. All in all, not the best hand to be dealt.

With omegas, it was easier. They were generally more forgiving, more open to communicating frustrations once they realized what you were, and their common desire to smooth over conflicts often meant you could find common ground without too much difficulty. But alphas? Alphas were different.

To them, a beta’s inability to respond in kind wasn’t just a gap; it was an absence. And no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t shake the perception that you were perceived as somehow less to them. They found you annoying, since you couldn’t adapt yourself to what they wanted, and they always tended to get what they wanted.

Added onto the fact that you were biologically utterly useless to them, no heats or hormones that’d match up, and getting along was often a pipe dream.

You’d seen it happen over and over again: discussions where your input was brushed aside, decisions made without consulting you, and the ever-present condescension, always cloaked in well-meaning advice. Even when they weren’t trying to belittle you, the effect was the same. It was exhausting. So you’d learned to temper your expectations, to approach alphas with the wariness of someone who’d been burned before and to try and read body language and social settings like your life depended on it.

Still, it wouldn’t do to walk into this with prejudices, as long as you kept your expectations low to begin with. He seemed serious about school. It wouldn’t be like last time. It’d be fine. It’d be fine.

You checked how much of your grade was impacted by the assignment and cursed.

Well… off to find this ‘Illumi Zoldyck’ then.

After class, you followed Illumi out of class, calling his name once to grab his attention. He didn’t hear you and walked out, making you have to follow him through the hallway.

Not having seen him take a corner, you wandered around for a bit, before you saw him and that red-haired creep talk by the coffee machine. You wouldn’t have been so mean to Hisoka, if he hadn’t broken your friend Bianca’s heart, standing her up after she’d prepared to ask him out for weeks and then ignoring all her texts. You sure didn’t get what she saw in him, but decided that in some light, he could look pretty cool with his half-shaven up hair and piercings.

Before walking up to the both of them, you grabbed your body spray and coated your neck in it, worried your irritation at seeing Hisoka would be noticeable. After putting it away, you walked up to the both of them.

Illumi was saying something, but you couldn’t quite catch it yet.

“Hmm~ Fine. But make sure Chrollo is there.” Hisoka said, a sultry tint to his voice even when making simple plans. His eyes flickered to you and he tilted his face your way in a borderline predatory manner. Dear god, what was wrong with this dude? You tried not to look too nervous, but saw his lips curl up into a smile nevertheless. “Well, I won’t take up any more of your time, and I’ll give my precious spot over to your new admirer~”

Illumi’s face turned to you as your face scrunched up.

“What?” You said, not having expected that.

“Don’t have to look so mortified.” Hisoka said, walking past you and waving Illumi away. “He doesn’t bite~”

“Ignore him.” Illumi said, as if that wasn’t the weirdest thing to say about a friend ever. “Organisational structures, right?”

A part of you was surprised at his tone of voice. His face was entirely expressionless, but his voice sounded rather casually amused, as if to compensate for how stone-cold he seemed otherwise.

“Yes.” You shifted your weight, trying to ignore how Hisoka still hadn’t walked away but was standing directly behind you. You could smell him, which was impressive considering you generally didn’t smell a whole lot. The little bit that you caught was a horribly sweet scent that would’ve made you believe he was an omega if it just wasn’t so suffocating. Omega’s always smelled comforting, a discovery you’d made recently during a sleepover with Bianca, and this was like walking around a carnival while on really bad shrooms, so the furthest thing from comforting. “I wanted to ask when you wanted to meet to talk about it.”

“Ha ha…” Came the creepy off-putting laugh from behind you, followed by a slow inhale that made every hair on your body stand upright. You looked over your shoulder and took a step forward, kind of shocked by how close he’d been standing. Shifting gears, you held out your hand for the phone Illumi was holding.

This wasn’t much better, since now you were standing a little too close to Illumi. His scent, while lighter, was unfamiliar and odd in its own right, like a musky perfume that needed to settle a little to get rid of the rubbing alcohol smell. Damn. You understood those empty seats now, knowing that if your nose was even a little better you’d also not want to sit next to either of them.

Though it would’ve aided you a bit in navigating this odd social interaction. Scents were often described as a whole separate language in itself. A russian novel you’d once picked up for a literature class had dedicated three whole chapters to the minutiae of the intent behind scents during an exchange between an alpha and omega at a dinner.

All you got from smelling was an indication whether or not someone smelled nice or not.

Having a strong scent was usually considered a ‘good’ thing, especially if you could control it a little, which you still didn’t really understand. How was such a thing controllable, wasn’t it just basic bodily functions? Googling it didn’t help, as you didn’t understand the medical jargon and the only normal articles about it were just on how to increase scent strength in order to be seen as more dominant and successful.

You looked at Illumi’s face intently, finding absolutely no indication of any sort of emotion. Was he angry? Was he annoyed you’d interrupted his conversation with Hisoka? Why was he being so quiet?

You raised your hand a little further.

“I’ll give you my number, text me.” You said, eager to get out of this situation as soon as possible. Why did alpha’s have to be so weird? Even the so-called standard alpha had so many quirks that it made life quite unbearable for someone like you who didn’t like to be sniffed all the time, despite knowing it was technically normal. “I’m on campus every day next week for my thesis, so feel free to just pick a moment.”

Illumi handed you his phone, already open on the contact screen.

“Busy bee~” Hisoka murmured as you entered your contact information, his voice carrying some blatant mockery.

“Are you done?” you snapped, unable to stop yourself. Hisoka’s eyes twinkled with amusement, and he raised his hands in mock surrender.

“Fine, fine. I’ll leave you two lovebirds to your planning.” He twirled on his heel, sauntering off with an exaggerated sway to his step.

The tension in your shoulders eased slightly as Hisoka finally disappeared around the corner, but the unease lingered. Illumi watched you silently for a moment.

“I’ll text you,” he said simply, as if nothing unusual had happened. “But I won’t meet you here. I’ll send you a location.”

“Hm? Why?” you asked, your tone sharper than intended, but you couldn’t help it. His demand caught you off guard and you were still on edge by that Hisoka figure.

Illumi raised a single, sharp eyebrow, as though your confusion was unwarranted and nodded towards the coffee machine. “The coffee here is horrible. I much prefer the café close to the business district.”

You stared at him, your lips parting in disbelief. Was he serious? You didn’t know which café he was referring to, but the business district was at least a thirty minute walk. You narrowed your eyes, trying to gauge if this was some kind of test.

“And pay ten times what the coffee costs here?” you asked, your voice edging toward incredulous.

His head tilted slightly, his lack of expression unchanged. “I’d prefer not,” you added, folding your arms in a defensive stance.

“Why?” he asked.

“It’s expensive,”

“It’s really not,” he replied without missing a beat. His tone was so matter-of-fact that you almost felt a flash of secondhand embarrassment for yourself.

You huffed a small laugh, half-joking to break the awkward tension. “I don’t mind, if you pay for my drink.”

“Low on funds, are we?”

Your laugh died in your throat. The way he said it made it feel less like a tease and more like a diagnosis. Fuck.

“...” You stared at him, words failing you for a moment. Then, very bravely and wisely deciding this conversation wasn’t worth pursuing any further, you shook your head and turned on your heel.

“Bye,” you said, the word clipped as you walked away, clutching your bag a little tighter.

As you put distance between you and Illumi, you couldn’t shake the feeling of having lost. You resisted the urge to glance over your shoulder, refusing to let him see how much he’d rattled you.

“You’re late.”

Illumi was seated at the corner table, wearing a dark red button-up that seemed like it was ironed just before you got in the café. He’d tied his hair in a very low-ponytail, and not for the first time you marveled at how pretty his hair was.

In comparison to how put-together he looked, you were wearing the same outfit you’d been wearing yesterday, only remembering that to be the case when you were three minutes away from the café. It was hot, and you felt sweaty.

You grabbed your phone. “You sent me the location twenty minutes ago. This was a thirty minute walk. The fact I made it in twenty-five should be impressive.”

“It isn’t.” He said, already sipping his drink.

“What? It is a thirty-minute walk.” You were already grabbing your phone to show him.

“No,” He said. “I mean it isn’t impressive.”

Your fingers stopped typing the address to show the route you’d taken. For a full ten seconds you stood there in silence before just sitting down and sinking into your seat. “So. The project.”

You’d promised yourself you’d be cooler this time, and you’d already failed. It wasn’t like you were keen to impress alpha’s, but this was just plain embarrassing.

For the first time since you’d met him, the edges of his lips inched upward.

The two of you settled into the task at hand, pulling out notes and reference materials. The café buzzed softly around you, the staff cleaning up empty tables and clinking cups creating a soothing backdrop. You worked in silence, focusing on the project with an intensity that kept your thoughts from wandering too far.

The two of you decided on a subject pretty quickly, and you both split up for a bit, trying to find sources and ideas online that would make for a good baseline to work from. Illumi sent you a reading he deemed pretty worthwhile, and so you tried to work out what it was implying so you could work ahead.

Illumi pointed out a specific section he wanted to use, his finger lightly tapping the screen as he indicated the passage. You nodded and set out to read it. The text, however, was dense and convoluted.

You squinted, your eyes scanning the same lines repeatedly, trying to wrestle meaning from the words. Frustration prickled at the edges of your mind, a tight knot forming in your chest. You bit your lip, determined not to show any signs of struggle. The last thing you wanted was to seem clueless in front of Illumi.

‘Within the nuanced framework of matrix organizational structures, as seen in fig 1., the dual-reporting lines and the interdependence between functional and project-based hierarchies create a lattice of authority and responsibility, indicating that in order for managers to navigate the intricate equilibrium between vertical accountability and-’

What the fuck did this mean.

He was waiting for you to respond to it.

You were being slow. You didn’t want him to know. You should just quickly think of something vague to say, and try to read it again. You opened your mouth, to reply something, anything, but nothing came out.

Illumi’s gaze lifted from his own work, his eyes settling on you with quiet intensity. His posture remained relaxed, one arm resting on the table, but his piercing gaze made you feel like he could see straight through you. “You’re confused,” he stated plainly.

It wasn’t a question. The bluntness of his observation made your face heat instantly. You could feel the warmth creeping up your neck. “What? No, I’m fine,” you mumbled, your fingers fidgeting with the edge of your notebook. “I’m just... thinking.”

His eyes remained on you, unblinking. “Your scent says otherwise.”

You froze, feeling your cheeks burn with embarrassment. Of course, he could pick up on that. You were mortified, knowing he could sense every flicker of your emotions, even the ones you tried to suppress. Bianca and Mariah pretended not to notice, and your family knew better than to say it this bluntly.

“I—” You fumbled for words, glancing down at the laptop screen. “It’s just... this part is confusing, that’s all.”

Illumi tilted his head slightly. “Is it?”

The simplicity of his statement only made you feel more self-conscious. “I’m just-,” you muttered, avoiding his gaze. “It’s not a big deal. I’ll get it in a minute.”

“You’re not majoring in business, are you?”

You exhaled sharply. “I’ll get it in a minute.”

He didn’t press further, simply nodding and returning to his work. But the heat in your cheeks lingered, and you couldn’t shake the feeling of being utterly exposed. You took a deep breath, forcing yourself to focus back on the task at hand. Even though the embarrassment lingered, you were determined not to let it derail the rest of the session.

You did grab your body spray again to lather your neck, a move which made both Illumi and the waitress crinkle their noses.

The rest of the meeting went better, and at one point he even nodded approvingly at something you’d written, which made you inwardly cheer. Your scent had probably betrayed you again despite the overdose of perfume you’d used, because his eyes flickered up at you again at that.

“Would meeting again tomorrow work for you?” Illumi said, pulling out his phone to check his agenda. “I want this done before the holidays.”

You hesitated. “Didn’t we just divide the parts?” Usually, one or two meetings were enough, with the rest of the communication handled online. You also had plans to watch a movie tonight, and squeezing in another session seemed excessive. “I won’t have a lot done by tomorrow.”

“I prefer to work on this exclusively like this,” Illumi said. “I don’t like waiting for replies when I’m working on projects.”

“Oh.” You could understand that, but you weren’t keen on trekking all the way to the café again. “That’s fine, but I don’t have time to commute all the way here tomorrow. Is meeting on campus okay?”

“No,” Came the immediate response. “You can take a cab to my place. This café is too noisy after all.”

You glanced around, noting the nearly empty space. His comment caught you off guard. “...No,” you said after a moment of stunned silence.

“Ah yes, low on funds,” he remarked, sitting so upright that it was hard to tell if he was even leaning against the backrest. “I’ll order the cab then.”

“You do realize you sound insane, right?” You were genuinely unsure. “Just come over to my place instead. No cabs, and it’s close to campus.”

“Fine.”

“And also—oh.” You’d been ready to argue further, but his swift agreement stopped you in your tracks. “Okay.”

“You’re going to meet him again?” Bianca said incredulously. “Didn’t you already meet up twice this week? How much effort are you putting in this thing?”

You shrugged. “It’s going pretty smoothly, and I could use a good grade. Would make up for that horrible excuse of an exam for Global Business.”

“Fair.” Mariah voiced.

“It’s not fair, it’s interfering with girl talk.” Bianca whined, lightly pawing at your sleeves. “I wanna choose the pictures for your dating profileeee~”

“Just because you have a boyfriend doesn’t mean you have to live your single life through me.” You laughed. “You can swipe for me on dating apps next time.”

“Ohhhhh~” Bianca immediately let go. “Deal.”

Mariah held up a hand in greeting, her eyes not having lifted off her book during the entire conversation. “Have fun.”

“Byee.”

You had expected him to sit across from you at your table, as he usually did, maintaining a comfortable distance. But today, he had chosen to sit next to you, his presence a steady, silent weight at your side. His long legs stretched out slightly under the table.

Your heart thudded a little louder than you liked. You tried to keep your focus on the text in front of you, eyes scanning the words, but his proximity made it difficult. The warmth radiating from him was subtle, yet unmistakable, and the occasional brush of his sleeve against your arm sent tiny jolts of awareness through you.

Illumi, as always, seemed entirely unaffected. His eyes moved steadily over the pages of his book, his expression serene, as if the world around him didn’t exist. His fingers, long and elegant, flipped the pages with quiet precision.

You, on the other hand, felt acutely aware of every little detail—the slight creak of the chair as you shifted, the way your knee almost bumped against his when you adjusted your position, the soft rustle of fabric as you reached for your notebook. If he smelled this flusteredness you were experiencing and made mention of it, you’d jump off a bridge.

It’d been three hours already, and the project was good and done for today, but despite having finished, instead of leaving when you’d said you’d finish some other tasks, Illumi had pulled out a book and started reading next to you.

Distracted from your work, you looked up at him. “Is it any good?”

“Depends on your taste.” He showed you the title. ‘A Bandit’s Secret’ the cover read. “It’s a little full of itself.”

“In what way?”

“It’s good, but the writer knows it a little too well.” He sighed and immediately you felt like he was annoyed you’d interrupted him. Had reading next to you not been a sign he wanted to spend more time here with you? Perhaps you’d read too much into it. “The day he’ll get the Pullitzer will feel like a deja vu with how often he must’ve imagined it already.”

You laughed at that, and Illumi looked at you with a neutral face. Oh, had he not intended that as a joke? Whoops.

Trying to not make more of a fool of yourself, you turned back to your laptop, managing to handle the returning silence for a total of three minutes before you cracked.

“Did I say something wrong?” Your voice broke the silence, soft but deliberate, as you leaned back in your chair.

Illumi shut his book completely this time with a snap. “Why do you say that?”

“I don’t know.” You hesitated, squinting at him as though searching for a crack in his stoic armor. “You don’t have an expressive face, and the conversation fell silent, so I worried you got angry at something I did.”

Some people got embarrassed when you straight up tried to ask what was wrong, or they’d twirl around the subject, annoyed you couldn’t just tell what was happening. Some people somehow couldn’t accept that their scent didn’t just carry across the message, despite knowing you physically couldn’t be able to tell even if you wanted to.

Despite that, you preferred outright asking and working things out before things got into a big deal. You’d been once named and shamed for weeks for readily accepting a ‘i’m fine’ from a girl in school, happily talking about your weekend, while everyone around could apparently tell she was grieving and depressed, making you seem like an asshole for just ignoring that and talking about yourself.They all understood but that didn’t mean they didn’t judge you.

Because of incidents like that, you’d come to prefer asking outright. It was cleaner, even if some people bristled at the directness.

“You did not say anything wrong,” Illumi said finally.

“Okay,” you replied, experiencing some silent relief, “but be sure to tell me if I do. I don’t like it when I go home oblivious and weeks later I find out someone’s mad at me.”

“Does that happen often?”

“Used to a lot. Not so much now in college, luckily.” You picked up your pen again, rolling it between your fingers. “I don’t hang around alpha’s a lot, or new people in general.”

“You don’t have to worry about that with me,” he said bluntly. “I’ll tell you if I feel you need to know something.”

That sounded like he might take some far-reaching liberties with what you needed to know, but fine. As long as the two of you could understand each other. You tilted your head, considering him, before nodding.

“Thanks,” you said, a small smile pulling at your lips. “I appreciate it.”

He didn’t open his book just yet. “Any plans for the weekend?”

A little surprised at his interest in something as menial as that, you recounted your plans, mentioning that you’d probably be spending it all with Bianca and Mariah, to make up for ditching them this evening.

“She’s gonna swipe for me on a dating app,.” Came out of your mouth before you could stop yourself. That was a weird thing to tell him. Stop, stop, drop the subject. “it’s a whole thing. I think she has done more of the talking on those things than me.”

You didn’t drop the subject.

“Dating apps? What’s the use of that?”

Noooooo-

“...Dating?” You said slowly, pretty sure you were missing a point, before realizing what he probably meant. “Oh, you must not hear about it much, it’s mostly just beta’s trying to meet others like them. It’s not as simple to meet someone for people like me.” You pointed at your nose. “Can’t just tell if someone’s a good match.”

Why had you still not dropped the subject.

“So what’s it take instead?”

“Different for everyone, but most beta’s I know date a long time and decide like that.” You didn’t want to admit that in your lifetime you’d only spoken to a handful of beta’s, all people outside your age range. Your rural middle school once tried to make a hang-out group for beta’s, but you’d been the only girl, and hadn’t really been into playing call of duty, so it wasn’t a success. Still, it’d been a good initiative, since you still followed those guys on social media and they seemed to still be hanging out now and again. “Spending time together, dinners, that kind of thing. It’s very socially exhausting. I’ve tried a few times, but it’s frustrating seeing everyone else just know when we’re supposed to guess. Or at least, that’s how it seems for me.”

“Hm.” Illumi said, seeming to mull over your point. “I see.”

“So what’re your plans?” You said, eager to have the conversation shift away from your doomed love life. “Wait till some omega’s scent knocks you off your feet and go from there?”

“Something like that.” While you’d prattled on, it seemed Illumi was much better in dropping a subject, as he opened his book again. You were about to die from embarrassment at having overshared so much when he fixed you with a look. “Why are you embarrassed?”

You let your forehead hit the keys of your laptop. “...Nothing.”

Where are you?

You looked at your phone again, trying to remember if there’d been plans you’d forgotten. The assignment was over and done with, and if the work you’d seen other groups hand in was anything to go by, the two of you’d passed with flying colours. After checking your agenda and coming up empty, you decided to bite the bullet and just ask.

I’m back home for the holiday. Did we make plans?

You saw the text bubble pop up and disappear a few times.

I’m closeby. Can I pick you up at seven?

You blinked as you stared at the text. He was here? Up north? Had he also gone to visit family? A part of you that immediately wanted to text him a paragraph full of questions is silenced, knowing he’d only reply with ‘limit yourself to yes/no’ if you did that.

You thought to yourself for a bit. You’d gone home to spend time with family, but you’d been let loose today to do some social calls. Those would be done by seven, and curiosity as to what he was planning was kind of tipping the scales.

You walked to the kitchen, where your aunt stood pouring some tea for herself.

“Hey, a friend from uni is nearby and wants to meet up at seven, is that okay?”

She huffed. “Don’t have to ask me for permission. Who is it?”

“The weird alpha.”

“Ah.” Her eyebrows raised at that, and you could just tell she had some thoughts on the matter, but decided to drop them. “Well, don’t say no on my account, but if you need an out, be sure to call me and I’ll pretend to have given you a curfew.”

You scoffed. “I think I’m grown enough to just tell him to take me home.”

“...Are you?” She held out a cookie for you once you walked past her.

You stopped and genuinely considered it, taking the cookie she offered. “Probably.”

A few hours later, you stood outside the apartment complex, genuinely lost for words when a car stopped right in front of you. Not one with Illumi driving, mind you, but with a driver.

The car door swung open smoothly, almost silently, the kind of automated luxury that didn’t just suggest wealth but flaunted it. You hesitated for a split second, your eyebrows lifting in a mix of awe and unease. Steeling yourself, you climbed in, settling into the plush leather seat that practically enveloped you. Everything about the car—from the subtle hum of the air conditioning to the scent of new leather and faint cologne—spoke of extravagance.

Illumi was already seated next to you, his posture composed and rigid. His long black hair draped neatly over his shoulders, the sharp lines of his suit immaculate. His dark eyes flicked over you.

“That’s what you’re wearing?” he asked.

You glanced down at yourself, picking at the hem of your oversized sweatshirt that proudly proclaimed Bowling Champion of ’78. The faded letters were slightly cracked, and the fabric smelled faintly of detergent and something musty.

Grinning, you leaned back against the seat. “I didn’t pack enough clothes, so I had to raid my old closet. Vintage, right?”

Illumi’s brow twitched ever so slightly. “Don’t look so happy about it,” he said, his voice sounding the same as usual, but his words carried the weight of disapproval. “You’re going to make a fool of yourself in the restaurant.”

“Oh, is that why you’re wearing a suit?” you shot back, your grin widening as you gestured vaguely at his tailored ensemble.

“Yes,” he replied, deadpan, as if the answer were obvious.

“Maybe you should’ve told me the dress code for the place then.” You snickered to yourself. “I-”

“Yes, yes, I’m paying, don’t worry about it.”

Wooow…

“Fuck, man. I was gonna say I would’ve dressed up nicer.” You felt the familiar twinge of irritation rise in your chest. Not for the first time spending time with Illumi, you felt utterly mortified, but you bit your tongue. You knew it was just… him. It wasn’t worth the fight, and honestly, you’d probably lose anyway. “What got you in this area?” you asked instead, changing the subject.

“Work,” Illumi said simply.

“Work?”

“I am helping with the family business.”

“What do they do?”

“...Business.” He said after a moment of deliberation. You sensed he didn’t want to talk about it, so you decided to change the subject, feeling proud of yourself for reading his reply so well.

“And you decided to bother your poor little classmate as soon as you were done?” you teased, leaning your head against the headrest.

“Am I? Bothering you?”

“No, just curious,” you admitted with a shrug, fiddling with the sleek panel of buttons along the car door. There were so many—each labeled with tiny, glowing symbols—that you didn’t even know what half of them did. The temptation to press them all was almost overwhelming.

“I was just surprised when you texted me.”

“I’ve texted you before,” Illumi said, and there was a faint trace of defensiveness in his tone.

“Yes, but never for something like this,” you countered, gesturing vaguely to the luxurious car and the promise of an equally extravagant meal. Then, realizing the conversation was veering into uncomfortable territory, you waved your own words away. “Never mind that. I appreciate the invite. Really.”

The car glided to a smooth stop. You glanced out the tinted window, half-expecting to see the restaurant, but instead, your door swung open with a soft hiss. You blinked, confused, as a woman in a sharp suit appeared in front of you. She moved with practiced efficiency, holding a neatly folded pile of clothes in her arms. Without so much as a word, she extended the bundle to you, her expression professionally neutral.

“Uh—” you started, but she was already stepping back, retreating to the sidewalk like a phantom. The door shut softly behind her, enclosing you and Illumi in the car once again.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” You said, looking lost at Illumi.

Illumi didn’t even look fazed. “Wear it,” he replied matter-of-factly. “The dress code is non-optional. You won’t get in looking like that.”

You opened your mouth, then closed it, glancing down at your sweatshirt again. Okay, fine. Point taken. But still—

“...And your driver just had an extra set of clothes, ready?”

“Good personnel doesn’t need to be asked,”

He looked at his phone as he said so, making you realize just how little he thought of the driver’s efforts, like it was completely normal for something like this to be arranged without giving even a single indication. Bianca had once vacuumed your room, just because she’d already been going at it, and you’d been grateful for an entire week. You hoped the driver was paid well, at the very least. Dental, even.

You blinked at him, genuinely stunned. “Damn,” You blinked, looking again at the clothes. “You’re really rich, aren’t you.”

“That bothers you?”

“Well. No? I guess?” You shrugged, trying to regain the casual tone you’d been holding onto earlier. But it wasn’t as easy this time. This whole situation—being whisked away in a luxury car, handed designer clothes like it was nothing—was excessive in a way that made you feel uncomfortably out of place.

You’d reckoned he was well-off, but this was something else entirely. This wasn’t just a cabin with a boat for the holidays, this was a rented-out ski lodge abroad type rich.

Your confidence wavered as you tried not to dwell on it. A beta from uni, dressed like a walking thrift store sale rack, picked up from a one-bedroom house shared with four people living in it. You’d never been self-conscious about it before, but suddenly felt judged.

You forced a laugh, clutching the clothes against your chest. “I am gonna google you when I get home though,” you joked, feeling like a joke yourself, clueless on how to deal with him.

“Get changed,” he said simply, his tone dismissive as he leaned back in his seat, his focus shifting to the window.

“What? Not in here.”

“Where else? The windows are tinted.”

“Yeah, but you’re still in here,” you shot back, flustered. Your hands tightened around the neatly folded pile of clothes in your lap. It wasn’t just that he was here; it was that he was Illumi. His mere presence was disconcerting enough without the added layer of stripping down in front of him and there was no way he was seeing your mismatched bra that had a little hole in the side of the lace.

“I don’t see the problem,”

Your face heated. “That’s uncomfortable,” you said firmly, trying not to sound as mortified as you felt. You couldn’t believe you had to explain this to him. Did the guy really not understand why changing in front of someone—even someone as seemingly indifferent as him—was awkward? It was kind of insulting that he probably saw you as so undesirable, being a beta, that he thought absolutely nothing of it.

For a moment, he just stared at you.

You stared right back, refusing to back down. No way were you giving in on this.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Illumi broke first. “Fine,” he said, with a faint trace of annoyance.

He pressed one of the buttons on the sleek console beside him. Without missing a beat, the car slowed and glided to the curb. You barely had time to blink before Illumi opened the door and stepped out.

“I’ll be up front,” he said over his shoulder, his voice muffled as he closed the door behind him.

Left alone in the backseat, surrounded by the anonymity of tinted windows, you looked at the clothes and realized you couldn’t really get out of this now.

“What am I doing…” you muttered, shaking your head as you surveyed your impromptu dressing room. With its sleek, (in your mind) futuristic luxury, the car didn’t make the situation any less ridiculous.

You unfolded the clothes carefully, inspecting them. The dress was a deep, dark red, the kind of shade that felt simultaneously elegant and intimidating. It was mid-length, form-fitting but not overly so, and surprisingly, it looked like it might actually fit you. Stockings were included—stockings, of all things—along with a low-cut grey fur coat that was absolutely ostentatious.

The pièce de résistance, however, was the jewelry. A small bag sat in the center of the pile, holding a few shiny silver pieces that looked like they’d cost more than your rent. You sighed deeply, shaking your head again as you held up a necklace to inspect it.

“This is insane,” you muttered to yourself.

Quickly, you started changing, feeling both grateful and mildly paranoid about the privacy the tinted windows provided. The dress slid on easily, hugging your figure without being suffocating. The stockings were more of a challenge—halfway through wrangling them on, you cursed loud enough for them probably to hear you in the front seat—but you managed.

Finally, you shrugged on the fur coat, its weight settling over your shoulders like a silent declaration of wealth you didn’t actually have. The jewelry was the last touch: earrings, a bracelet, and the necklace, which you fastened carefully around your neck.

Looking at your sweatshirt and pants, you folded them and placed them next to you with a little bit too much empathy for the discarded clothing.

You’d liked the shirt, at the very least.

“I look like a prostitute.” You said, looking at yourself in a reflective storefront while walking down the sidewalk. All you were missing was the bold red lipstick.

Illumi very seriously looked you over as he led the way. “Well. I am paying for dinner.”

You laughed loudly and slapped his shoulder. “Fuck off.”

The restaurant had been unlike anything you had ever experienced. Its grandeur had overwhelmed you from the moment you had stepped inside. The towering ceilings, gilded chandeliers, and the soft hum of a string quartet had all contributed to the sense that you didn’t belong there.

You were glad Illumi had insisted on changing clothes, since you were sure you’d be shot like a lame horse if you’d walked here in the bowling sweatshirt.

Still, you’d have felt more like yourself.

Beside you, Illumi had moved with his usual composed elegance, utterly unbothered by the extravagance surrounding him.

Your table had been positioned near a massive floor-to-ceiling window that showcased the glittering city skyline. The twinkling lights outside had reflected in the crystal glasses and polished silverware on the table.

When the waiter had handed you a leather-bound menu, you had trailed the spine, making too loud comments wondering if it was real leather, making a couple across from you giggle behind their wine glasses.

“Don’t mind them.” Illumi had said, surely because your discomfort was tangible in the air.

The words on the menu had been foreign. Each dish had sounded more elaborate than the last, and the descriptions had only added to your confusion. You had glanced at Illumi nervously, hoping for some kind of guidance, but couldn’t manage to make eye contact.

Before you had gathered the courage to ask for help, he had closed his menu and spoken to the waiter in his usual calm, measured tone. His words had been efficient, a series of dish names that you couldn’t repeat if he asked you to. When the waiter had turned to you for confirmation, you nodded wordlessly, trusting Illumi to have chosen something appropriate.

When the food arrived, it was a collection of dishes that not only looked beautiful, but tasted like the cook had poured his heart and soul into every last bite. You’d probably been a bit too loud in your enjoyment of the food, but the waiter had given you a happy looking smile, so at least someone seemed to appreciate you.

“Do you enjoy it?” he had asked, his voice cutting through your enjoyment of the dessert. You nodded, murmuring an agreement, seeing him clap his hands in joy, before adding on a robotic sounding “I’m glad.”

On the one hand, it was really nice to be given so much attention.

On the other, you still didn’t know why the fuck Illumi had invited you out to eat to a place so outrageous. Some type of classist guilt? A thanks for the good grade that was not even made public yet? It was fun, for sure, but why?

You couldn’t figure it out, and that feeling remained until you got home.

As the door clicked shut behind you, the smile you’d been wearing immediately slid off your face. Your shoulders slumped as you let out a long, exasperated sigh.

“Fuck,” you muttered under your breath.

“Language,” your aunt’s voice called from the living room, sharp and automatic. She appeared a moment later, a pair of reading glasses perched low on her nose and a book still in hand. She stopped when she saw you, her eyes widening as they took in your appearance.

“What are you wearing?!” she exclaimed, her hand coming up to adjust her glasses as if she needed to see you more clearly to make sense of it. “Where’s your sweatshirt?”

You glanced down at yourself, suddenly hyper aware of the extravagant outfit. For a second, you considered explaining, but your brain was too fried to come up with a coherent response.

“I think I left it in the car,” you blurted instead, your words disjointed as you tried to process the whirlwind of the night. “Sorry. I’ll, uh... I’ll ask for it back.”

Your aunt raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. “Doesn’t matter,” she said, waving a dismissive hand. “But seriously, why are you dressed like that?”

You sighed, running a hand through your hair as you stepped further into the house. “Illumi picked me up,” you said, trying to keep your voice casual. “Apparently, his plan for tonight was to go out to eat.”

Your aunt gave you a look, the kind of pointed, knowing look that only someone who had raised you could pull off. “And?”

“There was a dress code,” you continued, gesturing vaguely to the outfit. “They got me clothes within, like, three seconds, and I—” You trailed off, glancing down at yourself again. The whole evening still felt surreal, like you’d accidentally stepped into someone else’s life for a few hours. “It was fun, there were like ten courses but... what the fuck?”

Your aunt didn’t reply immediately or scold you for your swearing. Instead, she picked up her phone from the side table, sliding her reading glasses back into place with a deliberate air.

“What’s his last name?” she asked, her tone entirely too calm.

“Please don’t google him,” you said, exasperated despite having thought the same earlier the evening, holding out a hand as if that would somehow stop her.

“You come home looking like a movie star after meeting with a boy,” she said, wagging a finger in your direction. “I wanna know the details.”

“It’s not like that,” you said firmly, already anticipating where her mind was going.

Your aunt gave you another one of those looks, her eyebrows raising in mock skepticism.

“It’s not!” you repeated, dropping your hand to your side with a sigh. “He’s an alpha, remember.”

She tilted her head, her expression softening slightly. “And? That doesn’t mean you can’t have a perfectly nice time with him. You see new types of couples on tv every single day. I even saw two omega’s get married on the news last week.”

“It’s just... not like that,” you said again, though your voice lacked the same conviction this time. You rubbed at your temples, trying to figure out how to explain the situation without getting into the absurd details.

Your aunt hummed thoughtfully, clearly not convinced but thankfully choosing not to press the issue further. Instead, she set her phone down, crossing her arms as she studied you for a moment.

“Well, complicated or not,” she said finally, “you look amazing. Ridiculously overdressed for my living room, but amazing.”

You snorted, finally cracking a small smile. “Thanks, I guess.”

“And next time,” she added, her tone turning teasing, “maybe put on some lipstick before meeting this Illumi fellow, you know, just in case he’s taking you to the Oscars.”

“Noted,” you said dryly, though you couldn’t help but laugh a little, before holding up your hands to your face. “Nooooo- Don’t take pictures!”

“Put those hands down, I want to send this to your dad.” Your aunt snickered to herself. “He’ll get a laugh out of it.”

“Noooooooo-!”

After finally wrangling the stockings off—another heated and mildly humiliating struggle—you tossed them onto the pile of borrowed clothes on the floor with an exhausted sigh. You sat down heavily on your bed.

Your phone buzzed softly on the nightstand, and you picked it up, staring at the screen as if it might offer some answers to the swirling thoughts in your head. With more deliberation than was probably necessary, you opened the notes app and began drafting a text to Illumi.

You erased the first attempt. And the second. The third message sat on your screen for a while before you rolled your eyes at yourself and deleted that one too.

“What am I doing?” you muttered under your breath, rubbing a hand over your face.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, you forced yourself to settle on something simple, neutral. No overthinking, no analyzing every word—just a straightforward message.

I had fun :) Thank you for inviting me!

Your thumb hovered over the send button for a fraction of a second longer than it should have, but you pressed it before you could talk yourself out of it. The message sent with a faint whoosh, and you immediately locked your phone, dropping it onto the bed beside you like it might combust.

Sliding under the covers, you pulled the blanket up to your chin, trying to let the comfort of your bed lull you into some semblance of relaxation. But even with your eyes closed, your thoughts refused to quiet down.

You reached for your phone again, checking it out of habit, but the screen was empty of new notifications. Of course, you thought. Illumi wasn’t exactly the type to send quick replies. You placed the phone face down on the nightstand this time, determined to let it go.

You closed your eyes again, but instead of the darkness bringing rest, it only conjured up vivid flashes of the evening.

It’d been fun.

You’d been awkward at first, but once you’d managed to get him to talk as well, the conversation went really really well. He’d explained all the dishes, let you have the cookie they gave with his coffee, and he’d actually laughed aloud at one of your jokes, which had made you so giddy, even the waitress seemed happy for you when she’d refilled your glass.

Though perhaps she was just good at her job, because you’d seen her smile even more brightly at the tip she’d been given.

The way Illumi had smiled at you, faint but real, his lips quirking just slightly at the edges as he watched you stumble through your thoughts. The teasing remarks the two of you had exchanged over the dinner table. How he’d caught you before you slammed into the pavement when you’d stumbled out the restaurant, a little tipsy after all the wine courses.

Your heart fluttered uncomfortably in your chest. When you’d gotten home, you could still catch his scent clinging to your skin and hair, and by the raised eyebrow your uncle had given you when he’d come home, so had the rest of the world.

What was it saying?

It was too embarrassing to ask your family that, but you needed to know so bad. Was it saying ‘I’m in love’ or was it saying ‘I’m just messing with her’. Could it even be that specific? Did he smell something about you tonight? Had you been accidentally screaming into his face that you were kinda…maybe… perhaps getting a little fond of him?

“Fuck,” you groaned, your eyes snapping open. You grabbed a pillow and pressed it over your face, muffling the sound of a frustrated scream.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Illumi was an alpha from a completely different world. A rich alpha like him would marry some socialite omega the second he was out of college. Not someone who was supposed to linger in your thoughts, who made you second-guess your damn texts.

Classist guilt.

Or gratitude for your hard work.

That’s all it was.

You tossed the pillow aside, staring up at the ceiling. Maybe you were just tired. Maybe this was all just a result of the weirdness of the night, some hormonal bullshit happening because you were deprived of romance your entire life.

Yeah, that’s all it is, you told yourself firmly, though the flicker of doubt, or hope, remained.

Your phone buzzed softly again. You glanced at it, your pulse quickening for a split second before you saw it was just a news alert.

“Of course,” you muttered, flopping back onto the bed with a groan. You turned over, determined to sleep this time.

But even as you closed your eyes again, the scent remained.

To your secret excitement, the dinner hadn’t been the last time you’d see Illumi that holiday, as when you very nervously invited him the next day to go to the movies (you knew you were being stupid and delusional, but you couldn’t stop yourself), he agreed. Annoyingly, he didn’t let you treat him to the tickets, and instead rented out an entire movie theatre, claiming he couldn’t stand hearing others speak during films.

(The two of you talked throughout the entire film.)

“Did you bring my sweatshirt, by the way?” You asked when the final scene had concluded.

“I didn’t bring it.” Illumi said. “I didn’t think you’d want it back.considering the new outfit.”

“Don’t worry about it,” you giggled, the sound playful as you leaned back in your seat. “Enjoy your new pillowcase.”

Illumi, who had been idly following the credits, froze mid-motion. His head snapped in your direction, his dark eyes narrowing slightly as he stared at you with an intensity that made your skin prickle. It was as if you’d just said the most outlandish, unthinkable thing in the world.

You blinked at him, your smile faltering under the weight of his gaze. “What?” you murmured, your voice quieter now, unsure of what had caused such a reaction.

“How—” Illumi started. He paused, visibly gathering his thoughts, and blinked slowly before continuing. “Ah. You were making a joke.”

There was something about the way he said it—so serious—that you couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. “...Yes?”

“I didn’t realize.”

“No, I get that,” you said, your laughter subsiding as you studied him. He still seemed oddly tense, his shoulders stiff and his gaze lingering on you for just a beat too long. “Are you really using my sweatshirt as a pillowcase?”

“Of course not,” Illumi said, his reply clipped. His gaze shifted away for a moment, his fingers brushing idly over the sleeve of his perfectly pressed shirt, flicking away a rogue piece of popcorn. “I thought you’d said something else entirely.”

“What else could I have possibly meant by that?” you asked, your curiosity piqued despite yourself.

He settled on a vague, “It doesn’t matter.”

You raised an eyebrow, his evasiveness only making you more suspicious. Still, the idea of Illumi doing something as absurd as using your old sweatshirt as a pillowcase didn’t fit with the hyper-controlled, almost clinical image you had of him.

Though that image also didn’t fit with him wanting to spend more time with you, but you were taking that for granted.

“Okay,” you said, shrugging it off. There was no point in overthinking something so silly. He’d promised you to tell you things if you’d said something off, or done something wrong, so you were choosing to trust that he was just being embarrassed about misspeaking, in the most Illumi way possible.

Still, the image of him carefully tucking your sweatshirt over a pillow, of all things, was too funny to fully dismiss, especially since the thought tickled an utterly delusional part of yourself that liked the idea. You bit your lip to stifle another giggle, the thought lingering in the back of your mind as you went and grabbed your things.

It seemed that Illumi really liked your company, which was exciting.

You still weren’t sure whether you like liked him, or just had a itsy bitsy crush, but he wasn’t doing well in dissuading you from believing it was mutual from the way he sought your attention. The only thing holding you back from going all in was a bit of anxiety you still had surrounding the whole situation. It almost seemed too good to be true.

But until the other shoe dropped, Illumi had invited you to a party.

A party.

Oooohhh.

You’d been to your fair share of gatherings, hang-outs and get-togethers, but a party was a world apart. And if the things Illumi and you had done so far was any consolation, it’d be an entire thing of itself.

That thought lingered as you found yourself left to your own devices, standing a bit awkwardly near a graffiti-covered wall.

The party was set in an abandoned warehouse, its massive interior dimly lit by strings of mismatched fairy lights and the occasional flicker of neon strobes. The air buzzed with a low bassline that vibrated in your chest, the makeshift dance floor at the center already packed with a thrumming crowd.

To the sides, smaller corners offered a semblance of privacy, filled with groups leaning in close to talk over the noise. The smell of sweat, beer, and smoke hung in the air.

It wasn’t that you didn’t like dancing or mingling—far from it—but the unfamiliar faces of the place left you hesitant. You didn’t know anyone here except Illumi, and, as if to prove all your anxieties right, he’d vanished to find someone within three seconds of arriving, leaving you.

This brought back some annoying memories of similar events, and any sort of crush you had on Illumi was put on hold until you’d get an explanation. You didn’t like to be left alone, certainly not at events you would’ve otherwise never gone to. Were you supposed to just talk to some random people? What if you imposed on the wrong group?

You’d sink through the floor, but at the same time, standing here, not knowing what to do with yourself was also a hell in and of itself. You tugged at the bottom part of your dress, suddenly feeling like you’d overdressed a bit. Everyone looked a lot less birthday party and a lot more techno club in Berlin.

These events were hard without a group of girls to surround you.

To your utter elation, before you could grab your phone to check the time in an attempt to look like you were just waiting for someone instead of being a wallflower, a man with long white hair approached you. He was wearing a cool yellow coat that seemed reflective in the strobe light that sometimes turned on.

“Are you having fun?” he asked, his voice warm. “A friend of mine just pointed you out.”

“Huh? What for?”

He pointed at himself, puffing up his chest as if proud of it. “Beta.”

“Oh!” You immediately smiled widely, leaning forward a bit to catch his words better. “I haven’t actually met another since going to college! It’s nice to meet you.”

The two of you introduced yourselves and made some small talk. His name was Kastro and he was an art major, which was why you’d probably never met (beta’s couldn’t distinguish each other themselves, so others often made an effort to push them together. It could be awkward, but you appreciated the friend that had pointed him towards you).

“Are you having fun?” He asked, to which you nodded, since that was the case as of this moment. “Came here with anyone?”

“I don’t know if you know him.” You said, before realizing that made it sound like you had a boyfriend. “My friend Illumi invited me.”

“Illumi? Illumi Zoldyck?” He repeated. “Damn.”

You tilted your head slightly. “How so?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” He said, waving his own words away. “You hear things. Plus he hangs around with someone I can’t stand.”

“Hisoka?”

“...Yeah.”

“I also don’t like him.”

Kastro smiled widely and bumped your shoulder with his. “Match made in heaven, then.”

There was a flicker of excitement in your chest at his words, a small flutter that made your heart beat a little faster. It had been some time since someone had shown this kind of obvious interest in you (perhaps the first time even), and he was actually a beta. You did like Illumi, but you were still eighty percent sure he wasn’t into you like you wanted him to be. Just as you were about to respond, Kastro gave you a quick wink and excused himself, mentioning he was going to grab another drink-

for you both.

“Okay.” You said to an empty space as he walked off, your eyes following his yellow jacket.

As you saw him disappear in the crowds, you thought about it a little more. He’d been handsome, and seemed nice, but was this okay to do? Did you even want to be flirting right now? Before you could dwell on it too much, a familiar presence loomed behind you. Illumi’s voice, low and soft, brushed against your ear as he leaned over your shoulder.

“He’s not interested.” Illumi said. “Don’t bother.”

You swallowed hard, unsure what to say—or even how long he’d been standing there.

This was awkward.

Part of you felt caught, having sorta flirted with someone else, despite not actually being with Illumi at all. His bluntness in his delivery didn’t make it seem like he minded a whole lot. Okay, so that was another sign your interest in him wasn’t mutual. Perhaps.

“Oh… oh.” You said, deflating and before realizing how sad it would be to say, you let out an unsure sounding: “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Part of you wanted to repeat your ‘are you sure?’ but Illumi looked in the direction Kastro had left in with some distaste, so whatever scent he must’ve picked up must’ve been bad. Had Kastro even been a beta? Maybe he was an alpha pretending to be like you just to make fun of you? It wasn’t something you wanted to believe, but you trusted Illumi, so you’d ask him later, when you weren’t so prone to cry.

Well. That was a shame. You smiled at Illumi, grateful for the intervention.“Thanks. I might’ve made a fool of myself if you hadn’t said anything.”

“Why don’t you come meet some of my acquaintances.” He said, already grabbing your hand and leading you to a bunch of wooden pallets that served as seating spots for a group of people you’d seen in passing. With a bit of sourness in your mouth you realized Hisoka was there, talking to some black-haired man that if you remembered correctly you’d had a class with on ethics. Chrollo, if you had to guess.

A half-smile bloomed on your face as you let him lead you. “Most people call them friends, Illumi.”

Illumi scoffed. “They’re not.”

On the way to a lecture that you hadn’t really prepared all that well for, when rounding a corner, you bumped into a familiar person. Your face immediately dissolved into a cringe when you looked up at Hisoka.

He’d been at the party too, meandering through the crowd and turning up whenever it was most inconvenient. You’d stood outside talking to a woman called Pakunoda (a tall blonde woman with lean features majoring in psychology who’d been interested in your experiences) while she’d been smoking a cigarette and Hisoka had turned up out of nowhere, obviously listening in on the conversation.

When you’d addressed this, he’d just held up his hands in a peace symbol, mentioning that he was interested in the woman that was taking up so much of Illumi’s time.

You’d not had an answer for him, but luckily Pakunoda had, stubbing out her cigarette and mentioning needing to go to the toilet, pointedly looking at you to come and accompany her.

He still made you so uncomfortable, which wasn’t aided by the fact that he was looking down at you now with that god-awful closed-eyes smile.

“Don’t make that kind of face,” He said, sounding way too pleased with himself. “It almost looks like you dislike me.”

“Something tells me that’s what you’re going for.” You said bluntly.

“How cruel, and here I thought we’d be friends, now that you’ve gone and gotten so close with Illumi.” He sighed dramatically, still blocking your way. “Me and him have been such good friends for a while now, so I’d hate to put him in a difficult position. Can’t we start over?”

You should ask Illumi about Hisoka, you realized. The fact that they were even hanging out was kind of weird to you. By now you’d changed how you felt about Illumi completely, but Hisoka still gave you the creeps. It made you think less of Illumi, in some way, and in a weird twist, also about yourself, for even being considered friends-once-removed.

“What do you want?” You asked simply.

“Why must I want something? Can’t you see I’m merely trying to help a friend?” He brushed past your shoulder and you shivered. “Byee~”

Taking a deep breath, which freaked out a nearby omega who probably thought you were smelling her, you closed your eyes and tried to calm down. This day wasn’t going all too well so far. You rubbed the inside of your eyes and walked on, eager to forget this interaction had ever happened, despite knowing you’d grill Illumi on why the fuck he was hanging out with Hisoka almost as often as with you.

You’d agreed to meet Illumi near one of the quieter corners of campus, where the paths curved toward a secluded seating area bordered by neatly trimmed hedges. As you approached, you spotted him leaning against a low stone wall, a striking figure among the casual, lively crowd.

Illumi’s black slacks and fitted shirt were as impeccably tailored as ever. The sun caught the faint sheen of his dark hair, which fell in perfect curtains around his face. He didn’t seem out of place exactly—just untouched, like he existed in a world just slightly removed from everyone else’s.

You slowed your steps as you got closer, your heart giving a faint, involuntary flutter when his eyes shifted to meet yours. For a moment, he said nothing,then, he straightened, slipping his hands into his pockets.

“You’re late,” he remarked.

“By two minutes,” you replied, stopping a few steps away. “Don’t be dramatic. Do you want to walk with me for a sec? I left my coat in the lecture hall.”

“Two minutes, very impressive,” he said, wordlessly agreeing to accompany you as the two of you began walking toward the building together, his tone laced with dry amusement. “I’m sure it was at least a five-minute walk.”

You groaned. “Will you ever drop that?”

The lecture hall was conveniently close to the entrance, and you led the way through the double doors. The dimly lit hall was silent and empty, the air slightly cool compared to the bustling warmth outside. You noted how your footsteps echoed faintly against the walls, the lack of other students making the space feel oddly massive.

You’d barely taken a step inside when Illumi’s hand suddenly shot out, grabbing your arm firmly. The suddenness of it startled you, and your heart jumped as you instinctively looked down, expecting to see a loose cable or chair you might have tripped over. Finding nothing there, you turned back to him, frowning.

“...Illumi?” you asked cautiously.

His grip tightened, bordering on painful now, and you tugged at your arm, trying to pull free. It wasn’t until you met his gaze that confusion set over into worry. His previously good mood was gone, his eyes wide, his posture leaning slightly forward as though caught in some animalistic trance.

“Okay, seriously, what are you doing?” you asked, your voice edged with both confusion and concern.

Before you could pull away or demand an explanation, Illumi leaned in, and you felt—heard—him inhale sharply, his breath warm against your skin. You froze, staring at him incredulously, waiting for him to clarify what in the world was going on.

“You smell of Hisoka.” Illumi said in clipped tones, his pupils dilated and his mouth set in a grim line. “Explain.”

“Wow, are you alright?” You said, holding out your free hand in front of you in a gesture trying to calm him down. “He bumped into me on the way here.”

“Take off the shirt.” Illumi ordered. “I don’t want that scent on you.”

“I’m not wearing a tank-top underneath-”

“Can you for once just do as I tell you to instead of argue with me.” Illumi said, his voice still level but seething. “Take it off.”

Indignified, you took a step back, still unable to free your arm. “No, you can’t just-”

Before you could finish, Illumi closed the distance in a single, fluid motion. His long fingers curled around the fabric of your shirt, and with one decisive tug, he ripped it open, buttons scattering like metallic raindrops on the floor.

You staggered back, instinctively wrapping your free arm around yourself to cover your now-exposed torso. Heat flooded your cheeks as you stared at him, eyes wide, heart hammering in your chest. It was as if he’d slapped you.

His pupils, dark and blown wide, locked onto yours. "You're my beta," Illumi said, his voice low. "I don't want you smelling of another."

"Excuse me?!" Your voice cracked with indignation as you heard the buttons fall down the steps of the tilted lecture hall. "You can’t just—what the hell is wrong with you?"

"You reek of him," he said simply, as if that alone justified everything. The size of his pupils were massive, his normally dark eyes now feeling like you were staring into an abyss. "Do you understand what it means?"

"No! I don’t!" you shot back, hugging your arm tighter around yourself. "And you’re not explaining anything—you’re just acting like some kind of unhinged lunatic!"

For a moment, Illumi said nothing, his lips pressed into a thin line. He finally let go of your arm- there was a red mark of where he’d held you-, and stepped back just enough to shrug off his own shirt, revealing lean muscle beneath. Without hesitation, he held it out to you. "Put this on."

You hesitated, glaring at him. "I’m not a goddamn doll for you to dress, Illumi."

"You’re not anyone else’s" he repeated, an edge creeping into his voice. "That means I don’t want you smelling like others. Hisoka knows that, and he bumped into you to be annoying."

"He bumped into me!" you nearly shouted. "And since when am I your beta? When did that happen? Do you even hear yourself right now?"

Illumi’s head tilted again, as if your words were a puzzle he didn’t quite understand. "You don't understand," he said, quieter this time. "Put on the shirt."

You stared at him, bewildered, torn between anger, embarrassment, and confusion. Against your better judgment, you grabbed the shirt from his hands and slipped it on, the fabric warm and faintly scented of him. You wanted to go home, and you preferred doing so clothed.

Also in your anger you realized that perhaps Illumi was close to a rut or something, and more protective of his friends.

(You thought you could remember reading about something like that, and it was too delusional to consider any other reason.)

In the end, he was right.

You didn’t understand.

Maybe Hisoka had really made a mess of things in some way, and Illumi truly was just protecting you from social death here by making sure that bad carnival trip scent didn’t stick to you.

When covered by other’s scents, people couldn’t often tell you were a beta, which made it really hard sometimes. It’d been a mean-spirited prank when you were younger, to quickly rub some weird scent onto you and watch you go through your day, wondering why everyone looked at you funny.

Number one reason you washed your neck in between classes, and carried around an absurd amount of perfume.

You believed this primarily because Hisoka genuinely freaked you out. The idea of him even brushing against you sent a shiver down your spine, and you definitely preferred not smelling like that absolute freakshow. And maybe, just maybe, instead of some weird flirting, this whole “my beta” thing was probably Illumi’s awkward way of officially accepting you as one of his inner circle. That thought was oddly reassuring.

Didn’t mean you weren’t still mad.

"Happy now?" you muttered, still fuming.

Illumi's eyes flickered over you, and quickly he stepped forward and rubbed the back of his hand on your neck, making you flinch and lean back again. Once he finished doing that, his posture relaxed ever so slightly. "Yes," he said simply. Then, as if nothing had happened and he wasn’t in a state of undress right now, he looked over the lecture hall, probably trying to spot your coat.

You stared at his back, seething. "We’re not done talking about this," you warned.

"No," Illumi said, his voice as cold as ever. "I guess not. Grab your coat"

His tone made it clear he thought the conversation was over for now. Your hands clenched into fists at your sides as you glared daggers at him, but Illumi didn’t even look up. His calmness only fueled your frustration further.

"Unbelievable," you muttered under your breath, turning away to pick up the scattered remnants of your poor shirt.

Just as you’d settled onto your bed, laptop balanced on your knees and set to some show you’d been recommended, there was a sharp knock at the door.

You frowned, glancing at the time. It was late—too late for visitors. Cautiously, you padded to the door and opened it a crack.

Standing there was a delivery person holding a stack of neatly wrapped packages, a bouquet of colourful tulips peeking out from the top. "Delivery"

“Uh… okay.”

The delivery person smiled, clearly unaware of your internal confusion, and began handing over the items. “Okay, so there’s this box, this bag, and, uh, this little basket here…” They kept piling items into your arms until you were balancing an almost comedic mountain of packages.

“Wait, wait—hold on,” you said, struggling to maneuver everything. You managed to drop it all onto your desk in one ungainly heap before rushing back to sign for it. “Who sent this?”

The delivery person glanced at the return address on one of the packages. “Looks like it’s from… Zoldyck?”

Your jaw tightened. Of course it was.

“Sign here, please.”

“Yeah, okay.” You signed the little machine and waved off the delivery man. When the door closed, you placed your hands on your hips and looked over the pile of gifts. What was this?

You grabbed your phone and called Illumi.

He picked up after the third ring.

“Yes?”

“Why did you send me all these gifts, Illumi?” You asked, foregoing the usual greeting. “You really scared me the other day and I don’t want you to think you can just buy me off after doing stuff like that.”

“...” It was silent on his end for a while. “Apologizing would be useless here, since I stand by what I did.”

You made a high pitched noise of exasperation.

“But, perhaps,” Dear god he really had to force these words out, “I could’ve explained to you a bit better why I couldn’t let you smell like him.”

You looked at all the gifts and sneakily looked inside one of the bags, and with a tug at your heart you realized he’d gotten you merch for one of the movies you’d watched together in the cinema. That was sweet.

Wait no, you were angry.

“It’s not something I can accurately explain.” He continued. Well, you’d heard that one before. “Can you trust me when I say it was for the best?”

“Well… Okay.” You slowly said, feeling like you had no backbone. “But for the next time if something like this happens, you don’t need to buy me gifts or anything, we can just talk it out.”

“I like giving you gifts.” Came the earnest reply. “I won’t apologize for that either.”

And once again, you were blushing, endlessly grateful he wouldn’t be able to smell how flustered he made you. You were supposed to be angry… angry.

“Just… warn me next time.”

Cradling your own forehead, annoyed at your own stupidity, you suppressed a groan, knowing you’d already forgiven him completely.

You were fucked.

Dinner was supposed to be a casual affair—a chance to unwind and catch up with Mariah and Bianca, though the latter had gone into heat earlier this morning, so it’d be a week before you saw her again. The diner near campus, with its sticky menus and comforting smell of fried food, seemed like the perfect spot to gossip and reconnect, but the location had changed last minute to some uptight spot downtown, as you’d warned Mariah would happen.

Illumi had been invited, primarily because Mariah and Bianca had been dying to meet the mysterious guy you kept on disappearing with, though you weren’t entirely sure he’d show, despite having made a prepaid reservation. His response to being invited to dinner with you and Mariah had been a little lacklustre.

But, true to form, he arrived just as you and Mariah were settling into the table.

“Hope I’m not late,” he said, settling into the seat next to you. He glanced briefly at Mariah, then turned to you.

Mariah shifted slightly in her seat.

“Not at all,” you said, waving it off. “We just got here. Mariah, this is Illumi. Illumi, Mariah.”

“Good,” Illumi replied simply, already flagging down the waiter. You’d gotten used to his… slightly pretentious behaviour, but you were suddenly worried what Mariah would think. Would she think you were just hanging out with him because of his money, instead of despite it?

Dinner started easily enough—or so it seemed. After introductions had been made, you and Illumi fell into a rhythm. He had a knack for saying something just outrageous enough to spark a reaction, and despite yourself, you found it entertaining.

Mariah, though, was unusually quiet. She poked at her food, her fork dragging slow circles in her food. She nodded or hummed when you addressed her but barely looked up. You chalked it up to her being tired or maybe a little shy around Illumi, who wasn’t exactly the warmest presence.

Or maybe she hated the food.

You could understand that as well, knowing she’d expected being able to order pasta instead of whatever reduction was on your plate now.

“Mariah,” you said at one point, trying to loop her into the conversation, “you promised to tell me about your holiday, how was it?”

She hesitated, her fork pausing mid-air. “Oh, um, maybe another time,” she said, her laugh sounding thinner than usual.

“Oh? You sure?”

“Yes.”

You frowned slightly but didn’t press. “Okay,” you said with a shrug, turning back to Illumi, who looked faintly amused.

Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed Mariah gripping her utensils a little too tightly, her knuckles pale against the metal. Was something wrong? Was she sick or close to a heat like Bianca or something? That felt like a bad question to say aloud at a dinner table, and you were sure Illumi would have had more of a reaction if that were the case.

You dove back into the conversation, assuming Mariah was just having an off night. She was polite enough, you thought, even if she wasn’t her usual chatty self.

As the evening wore on, you barely noticed the way Mariah’s shoulders remained rigid, or the way her eyes darted to Illumi every time he moved. To you, it seemed like a perfectly fine dinner—awkward at moments, sure, but nothing out of the ordinary. If there was something more beneath the surface, it didn’t quite register.

Finally, Mariah leaned over and touched your arm. “Hey, can you come with me to the bathroom for a sec?” she asked, her voice too light, too forced.

“Sure,” you said, sliding out of your seat. “Be right back,” you told Illumi, who gave a faint nod but didn’t seem particularly interested in your absence.

Once inside the tiny, dimly lit bathroom, Mariah spun around, her eyes wide.

“What the hell?” she hissed, her voice low but urgent.

“What?” you asked, genuinely confused. “What’s wrong?”

“That guy,” she said, glancing toward the door as if expecting him to materialize there. “Illumi. He’s—he’s dangerous.”

You frowned. “What?”

Mariah shook her head vehemently. “His scent—God, it’s like it’s screaming at me to get the hell away from him. I’ve never felt anything like it before. It’s not just strong; it’s like… like he could jump up from his chair at any point to kill me.”

“He’s never been violent-” You thought about the time he ripped off your shirt. “Well…”

“Be for real.” She leveled you with a stare. “That’s because it isn’t aimed at you.”

Her words gave you pause.

“Is it that bad?” you said, though unease pricked at the back of your mind.”A little bit of an exaggeration, maybe?”

Mariah grabbed your hands. “I’m not. I know you think he’s your friend or whatever, but there’s something off about him. I can feel it.”

You pulled your hands back gently, unsure what to say. Illumi was… well, Illumi. Sure, he could be unnerving, but you’d never felt truly unsafe around him. Then again, maybe you’d gotten used to his peculiarities in a way Mariah hadn’t. Or…

“So you think he’s just messing with me?” You asked softly, feeling hurt already by the idea, and sounding like a child in your own ears. “That he’s up to something?”

Mariah instantly softened and hugged you before letting a little space between you return. “No, honey, no, if that was the case I would’ve told you sooner, you know that. It’s not aimed at you, I promise. I can tell.” She seemed to struggle finding the words for what she wanted to say. “Doesn’t mean he isn’t terrifying me, but if it is just his… intensity, then I would say… perhaps… that he’s smelling like that because he doesn’t want me here. Did he know I was coming?”

“Yes, I think so?” You said. “I texted it.”

“Okay, well, figure that out.” Mariah said. “I’m gonna excuse myself in a bit, and you can ask what all that… cloud of hatred is about. I’m surprised the staff isn’t saying anything about it.”

“Hm.”

“Also…” she began sheepishly.

Immediately you knew what she was talking about. “Yeah I know, don’t worry about it, he refuses to go to cheap restaurants, but in turn he pays. I’ll make a scene if he says anything about it.”

“Please don’t.” Mariah said, more seriously than you’d expected. “Please.”

You nodded, but your mind was spinning as you followed her back to the booth. Illumi glanced up as you returned, his gaze flickering to Mariah for a fraction of a second before focusing on you.

“Everything alright?” he asked, his voice as calm as ever.

Mariah’s fingers curled tightly around her water glass, and you hesitated before answering. “Yeah,” you said, sliding back into your seat. “We’re good.”

“Man, I’m wiped. I think I’m gonna call it after this.” she said, her voice too bright and about three seconds after she’d sat down again. She grabbed her bag in one swift motion and slid out of her seat again. “I’ve got an early start tomorrow. I’ll see you later, okay?”

You frowned in faux surprise, mentally cursing her for not having more tact and at least pretending for another few minutes. “You sure? You didn’t even finish your drink.”

Mariah waved a hand dismissively, her eyes flicking briefly toward Illumi before darting away. “I’m good. Really. Nice meeting you,” she added..

Illumi didn’t look up from his glass of water. “Likewise,” he said flatly.

“Bye,” You said as she’d collected all her stuff. “See you tomorrow.”

Mariah lingered for a moment, as if debating whether to say more, then turned on her heel and hurried out of the diner.

You watched her go and looked like Illumi, trying to pretend it was also sudden for you. Even if your scent didn’t say anything, he didn’t have to be a genius to realize something happened after she immediately left after the both of you excused yourselves to the bathroom. “That’s a shame.”

“She was nervous,” Illumi said without looking up, tucking a few strands of ink-black hair behind his ear.

You turned back to him, feigning ignorance as you tried to fish for answers. “Nervous? Why would she be nervous?”

Illumi met your gaze then, his dark eyes cool and assessing. “Because she’s an omega,” he said simply.

You blinked. “And that means… what exactly?”

He leaned back, his posture relaxed, but his gaze unwavering. “Despite making up nearly half the population, they all expect to be treated with a certain… indulgence. Most of it is unspoken, communicated through scent. Since she’s unmated, she probably assumed I’d ignore you.”

You frowned. That didn’t sound anything like how Mariah had described it. “That doesn’t seem right.”

Illumi’s lips pressed into a thin line, his tone turning pointed. “Is it really so hard to believe that you’d be sidelined when alphas and omegas interact?”

It wasn’t.

But biology aside, Mariah hadn’t looked annoyed or jealous—she’d looked uncomfortable. Scared, even. You’d only known her for a year, but that was enough time to get a sense of someone, wasn’t it? Then again, you’d never gone to one of those mixers with her. You already knew you’d hate the whole experience, so maybe she really was different in that kind of setting.

“That’s… kind of harsh,” you said, leaning back in your seat. “You make it sound like she’s jealous. She’s not like that.”

“It’s not necessarily jealousy,” he said curtly. “But her reaction isn’t unusual.”

You blinked, caught off guard by how matter-of-fact he was. “Huh.”

“It’s not just a guess,” he added. “It’s a pattern. Even if she’s your friend, omegas don’t like being ignored or overshadowed. And I simply prefer your company.”

You hesitated. “I… don’t really know what to think about that.”

It was true that you spent most of your time around omegas, and this whole situation with Illumi was new. Thinking of Mariah in such a negative light didn’t sit right with you.

“I might be wrong,” he said.

“Could be, I can’t say.” Another tally for the growing list of frustrations your secondary gender was causing you. “Does that mean you only like hanging out with me because I don't expect you to fawn over me?”

“No.” Illumi said immediately.

“...Then what?”

“Hm.” He seemed to think about his phrasing. “If anything you should expect more from me.”

“Oh.” You said slowly, feeling stupid as you had no idea what he meant by that.

Illumi didn’t reply right away. When he finally spoke, his tone was softer but no less unsettling. “Does that idea bother you?”

You still hadn’t a clue what he was talking about, so you just winged it.

“Not really, I guess?” You looked at him. “Should it?”

He nodded. “That’s a good answer.”

You glanced at the door where Mariah had left, unsure what you’d say to her when you’d meet her again. Telling her Illumi seemed to consider her insulted by his lack of interest towards her seemed like a bad call, but you hadn’t ever been in a situation like this one before, so you couldn’t really tell whether or not what either was saying was correct.

Either Ilumi was, probably unintentionally, really scary, or Mariah was annoyed because your friend didn’t switch his attention to her.

The silence stretched for a moment, and your curiosity got the better of you. Since the topic was already out there, you figured you might as well ask. “Okay, since we’re on a similar topic, I wanted to ask you what you think I smell like?”

You’d asked Bianca once, and she’d blinked like it was a really weird question. Her answer had been vague, just telling you that your scent was very neutral.

Illumi did look up at your question, slightly surprised, but didn’t hesitate for even a second before leaning in slightly, his sharp nose barely an inch away from your shoulder as he inhaled.

You froze, your breath catching in your throat.

He straightened just as quickly. “Cold coffee,” he said matter-of-factly.

“What?” you blinked, startled.

“Cold coffee,” he repeated, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Stale, bitter, with faint traces of something sweet.”

You stared at him, completely at a loss. “That’s… weirdly specific.”

“It’s accurate,” he replied.

“Well, okay. Didn’t know what I expected,” you said, still processing his blunt observation. “Is that a good thing? Stale and bitter doesn’t sound good.”

“It is good, don’t worry,” Illumi said, tilting his head slightly. “Coffee is dominant, but there’s something else beneath it.”

You frowned. “Something else? Like what?”

Illumi regarded you for a long moment, his gaze heavy. It must’ve been a trick of the light, since you swore you saw his pupils dilate. “I can’t place it. Yet.”

“Yet?” you echoed, suddenly feeling self-conscious under his scrutiny.

He didn’t answer.

You let out a breath and muttered, “Cold coffee, huh? Guess I’ll take that over, I don’t know, swamp water or something.”

Illumi’s lips curved faintly. “It suits you,” he said simply.

“Again,” you said, side-eyeing him with a faint smile of your own, “not sure if that’s a compliment. And can you, like, really read my emotions out of it? What I’m thinking?”

“Sometimes,” he admitted, his words frustratingly evasive.

“That’s unfair,” you whined.

“I like it.”

You stopped your own exasperation and smiled wider, raising an eyebrow. “You like knowing exactly what I think, while I’m forced to guess?”

“Yes.” His answer was immediate.

“That’s…” You trailed off, searching for the right word. Infuriating? Annoying? “Of course, you do.”

Illumi’s eyes didn’t leave you, and you had the distinct feeling that he was filing something away. Cataloging another one of your on-display emotions.

Meanwhile, you had nothing. No scent to read, no way to tell what was going on in his head, no way to even the playing field. You were left with only your gut—and he seemed entirely too aware of that fact.

“Must be nice,” you muttered, more to yourself than to him.

“It is,” Illumi said, leaning on his fist with his elbow on the table.

Your cheeks warmed, though you weren’t sure if it was irritation or embarrassment. Maybe both.

Next to you, Illumi shifted, his hand brushing his glass again before returning to his lap. His focus hadn’t wavered, and though he said nothing more, you could feel the weight of his attention pressing down like a tangible thing.

You bit the inside of your cheek, fighting the urge to squirm under his gaze.

“Well, enjoy your unfair advantage,” you said, finally trying to break the moment, your voice light but tinged with dry humor.

“I will.”

A few days later, you and Mariah were sitting in your favorite coffee shop, the smell of freshly brewed coffee filling the air as you both huddled over steaming mugs, a smell that held new context for you now that you knew you apparently fit right in.

The tension from last week seemed to have faded, though you couldn’t shake the feeling that Mariah was still a little off whenever you brought up Illumi. You pushed the thought aside as she leaned back in her seat, her gaze flicking over to you with an almost suspicious look.

Surprisingly, she was the one to bring him up.

“You know,” Mariah said slowly, her voice quieter than usual, “you smell like him.”

You blinked, looking up from your coffee. “What? Like who?”

Mariah’s eyes narrowed as she studied you, wordlessly yelling at you who do you think. “Illumi. You reek of him.”

Your heart skipped a beat at the accusation, though you tried to keep your expression neutral. “I—I don’t reek of him. I don’t even—he was over at my place this morning so some must have stuck, that’s all,” you said quickly, trying to brush it off.

But Mariah wasn’t buying it. Her eyebrows shot up, and she leaned in, voice low and urgent. “Listen to me, okay? No one smells like that unless the alpha intends for it to happen. And I’m telling you, girl, that scent—his scent—is all over you.”

“You think Illumi is scenting me?”

“Of course he is. He’s marking you.”

You quickly glanced around, making sure no one was overhearing this ridiculous conversation. “What? No, no, that’s not what happened. He wasn’t marking me or whatever. He just—he was there to talk for a bit and—”

Mariah threw her hands up in exasperation, slapping her palm against your forehead in a light but hard thwack. “Are you seriously this oblivious?” she snapped, her eyes wide with disbelief. “He called you his beta, didn’t he?”

You blinked at her, rubbing your forehead where she’d hit you. “Yeah, he did. But that was just... I don’t know, some weird thing he said. Like, I’m his beta now or something. I didn’t take it seriously.”

Mariah stared at you, slack-jawed for a moment, as if you had just confessed to committing some terrible crime. “No, no, no. You don’t get it. When an alpha calls anyone theirs—especially a guy as serious as Illumi—it’s not a joke. Alpha’s don’t joke about stuff like that. He’s marking you.”

You stared at her, images of what ‘marking’ generally entailed in your romance novels popping up in your mind, a hot blush creeping up your neck. “I—Mariah, I swear, it wasn’t like that. He didn’t—he didn’t mark me, he just... he just came over and—”

“I don’t mean sex! Marking is more than that, it’s like a dog pissing on a fire hydrant, but with scents. Sure, being around someone is bound to have some intermingling in scent occur, but he’s clearly been rubbing his scent glands on everything he could get his hands on.” Mariah said pointing at your neck, bag and coat. “It’s in the way he marks his territory, and your scent is telling everyone with a working nose that you’re his.”

“But what does that mean?” You felt like a broken record, but you just couldn’t understand what she was saying.

“I know you probably don’t wanna hear it from me,” The omega said slowly. “but he’s into you. Carnally. Romantically. Sexually. Either which way.”

“That’s-” You looked up at the ceiling, so shocked to hear it so bluntly stated that you couldn’t really figure out what to say. Telling Mariah, who hated Illumi, that you’d been kinda into him for a while now and were kinda happy at hearing all this seemed like a bad call. Better to maybe save that for when you truly figured out what you felt about him instead of this back- and forth you felt currently. “So... what do I do now?”

Mariah threw her hands up. “Honestly, at this point, I don’t know. But you need to stop acting like this is some innocent thing. I don’t know why he’s doing this either, but we gotta call it like we see it, and this alpha apparently has a thing for beta’s.”

Your gaze drifted to your coffee, the bitter taste now suddenly too sharp on your tongue. Her words bothered you. Like she couldn’t fathom someone going to such (hypothetical) lengths for someone like you. Like you were less than, never enough.

Mariah’s sharp eyes softened as she looked at you one last time. “Just... pay attention, okay?” she said quietly. “Don’t let him drag you into something you’re not ready for. Marking is serious business, and for some reason, this guy just wants you.”

“For some reason?” The words slipped out before you could stop them, the bitterness in your voice evident.

Mariah backpedaled quickly. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“No, no, no.” You held up a hand, feeling frustration bubble to the surface. “I know you think you’re helping, but all you’re doing is showing me how unlikely you find it that someone might actually like me.”

Her comment stung more than you wanted to admit. It wasn’t just Mariah’s words—it was your own insecurities coming to life. Deep down, you’d always wondered if you could ever be enough for someone. Enough for anyone, let alone someone like Illumi, who was handsome and nice in his own weird way despite being a snobbish prick fifty percent of the time.

Beta’s were rare, and there was no promise that you’d click with any one of them, while the rest of the population apparently found it unnatural to be romantically interested in someone like you.

And now, with Mariah voicing those doubts aloud, it felt like confirmation of every fear you’d tried to bury.

“I don’t mean it like that.” Mariah hurriedly said. “I really didn’t. It’s just… Alpha’s, and men in particular, are pretty basic. They follow their nose as much as they do their dicks, and Illumi is acting like you’re an omega, which you’re not. It’s weird that he’s doing this, and I want you to be safe from his freakish behaviour.”

"Freakish"? You repeated again. “Taking me out to dinner, paying attention to me, actually getting to know me instead of labelling me away as a faulty byproduct is freakish? I’m not a little kid, Mariah, and I really like him. I’m not going to quit seeing him just because you cannot fathom someone actually taking an interest in me without being some freak.”

“I didn’t mean—” Mariah winced, her voice lowering as she glanced around. “Get your scent under control, you’re filling the whole café.”

Your eyes flashed with hurt at her words.

“I’m gonna go,” you said quietly, standing up and grabbing your things. You sniffled, trying to hold back the sting of tears. “See you later.”

Without waiting for a response, you turned and walked out, the door’s bell jingling softly behind you as you stepped into the cool evening air.

A few nights later, you and Illumi had agreed to stay in and watch a movie at your place.

You hadn’t spoken to Mariah since the fight, and mornings in the communal kitchen were rather awkward. It was clear Bianca was taking Mariah’s side, since she’d also been rather short with you when you’d walked past her.

It meant you’d been rather lonely and were glad you still had Illumi.

Even ignoring the fight, she had been right about one thing. Everything you had reeked of him. The fact that you smelled like Illumi had since then been confirmed by multiple other sources, a young boy on the subway even asking you who you were and why you were smelling like his older brother.

(You’d been excited at that, having heard Illumi talk about his younger siblings multiple times, but the white-haired boy had just told you to ‘steer clear of that asshole’ which had made you confused once again. Was it just the kid going through puberty, or were you an idiot and was every sign in the universe telling you that this wasn’t a good idea?

You were leaning towards puberty.)

Since he’d arrived, you’d even caught him in the act. You’d showered beforehand, made sure to be so lathered in body butter that perfumes were clogging up every pore, and you’d deep-cleaned your house religiously. When Illumi entered, you’d immediately noticed a slight upturn of his nose. He didn’t respond with anger or disappointment, as part of you had expected, but you did notice him trail his hand over your couch and put his coat directly over yours at the hanging rack.

The gesture had seemed casual, but something about it made your skin prickle. The weight of his coat pressed firmly against yours, their scents mingling in a way you were now sure wasn’t accidental.

As you settled in on the couch, remote in hand, you glanced over at him.

"Illumi," you said, your voice steady despite the uncomfortable knot in your stomach, "we need to talk."

He glanced over at you, his eyebrow twitching slightly, but he didn’t say anything, waiting for you to continue.

You took a deep breath, deciding you weren’t going to back down. "About your scent."

His gaze shifted slightly, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "You’re still bothered by not being able to read me?"

"No, it’s not that, I—" You hesitated. "I met up with Mariah and she made some comments, and I need to ask you about it. She said that all my stuff- and me- smells like you, and that such things don’t happen by accident, so I need to ask you why you have been marking me with your scent like that? You know, it's apparently kind of hard to ignore."

“That girl really dislikes me.”

“...Yeah.” You admitted, not wanting to get into the specifics. “But the point stands, are you really doing that?”

Illumi didn’t seem surprised by the question. He tilted his head ever so slightly, his dark eyes focusing on you. “It’s natural,” he said simply. “It’s in my nature to mark what’s mine.”

Your breath hitched, and you were fidgeting with your sleeves to avoid making eye contact. "Just to be, uhm, clear: what do you mean, ‘what’s yours’?"

Illumi looked at you, his expression blank but somehow expectant, like he wasn’t sure why you didn’t understand. "You’re my beta," he said matter-of-factly. "I’ve told you this before."

Your stomach twisted. “I—wait, no.” You shook your head, trying to process what he was saying. “We’re not dating. We’re not in a relationship or anything like that. So why are you—” You paused, trying to find the right words. “Why are you marking me like that?”

He blinked slowly, processing your confusion. "What did you think we were doing all this time?"

You opened your mouth to respond, but no words came out. You suddenly felt like you were backpedaling. Of course you’d noticed possible romantic possibilities, you’d even gotten into a fight over the mere existence of the possibility, but this wasn’t an indication of liking you, this was a confession.

"I didn’t think it was like that," you admitted, your voice quieter now. “I thought we were just... friends. You know, hanging out, watching movies, talking. I didn’t realize you... thought we were dating." You huffed out in frustration. “Why would you think that? You know I can’t tell with stuff like this.”

“I thought I was being rather upfront.” Illumi tilted his head, as if he were considering your words for the first time. Then, with an almost imperceptible shift, he leaned a little closer. "Do you often have friends that buy you jewelry when they apologize to you?”

“I don’t have a lot of super rich friends who can do that, so no.” You said, flustered, unsure whether you should lean back or forward. “but we’ve never done anything romantic or—” You gestured vaguely, your cheeks warming. “—intimate. How was I supposed to know you felt differently?”

“Hm,” he murmured, almost to himself. “You’ve got a point. I didn’t consider it like that.”

Your heart was pounding when he stood, his movements confident as he approached. You barely had time to react before he loomed over you.

“Illumi—” you began, but the words died in your throat when he leaned down, his face inches from yours.

He didn’t give you a chance to protest—or to think. His lips pressed against yours, firm and insistent, and the world tilted.

The kiss wasn’t gentle or hesitant. His hand moving to the back of your head with practiced ease, he made sure your first kiss with him was something that you’d never be able to forget. He guided you closer, tilting your head just enough to deepen the kiss, leaving no room for doubt or misinterpretation.

Your thoughts short-circuited. This wasn’t what you had imagined—not during embarrassing daydreams or fleeting fantasies during lectures. It wasn’t tentative or awkward at all.

When he finally pulled away, your breath came shallow and uneven. Your heart pounded so loudly you were sure he could hear it. You stared up at him, wide-eyed and speechless, unable to form a single coherent thought.

Illumi straightened, his dark eyes never leaving yours. A faint, almost imperceptible smirk played on his lips, like he was testing the waters of your reaction.

“I know you want me to say things out loud,” he said, his voice casual and unhurried. “But now you understand, don’t you?”

The high-pitched ‘huh?’ that left your mouth didn’t convince him you’d understood, so he made sure to reiterate his point.

Okay.

So you were dating Illumi now.

It was a big change, though not a lot had changed between you and Illumi since you realized he’d already thought you’d been dating for weeks already. You, Bianca and Mariah still weren’t talking, and after getting confirmation by Illumi that both their scents were rather antagonistic towards you (he’d visited you and the two of you’d walked past them) you had to come to terms with the fact that you didn’t really have friends anymore.

No more late night talks, movie nights and coffee dates.

At least with them.

You did miss them both, really, but even if you wanted to make up, the fact that they still were really mad at you made you scared to approach them. Illumi assured you you didn’t need them, which made you feel a little bit better, and luckily he’d taken a while off work at the end of the semester to spend some time with you.

That was… nice.

No, it was more than nice. It was surprising. Sweet, even. You couldn’t remember the last time someone had cleared their schedule just to be with you.

After the first few days, your routine had completely changed. Instead of going home, you were picked up by Illumi’s car (you couldn’t get used to it) and brought to his apartment, where the two of you would hang out for the entire night or go out and do something fun.

The first kiss had opened up a dam, since Illumi now wouldn’t let you leave without at least kissing you once, preferably with things going a little further. You weren’t ready for sex yet and had made that very obvious when you’d started to cry when he’d tried and unclasp your bra, but after that he’d interrogated you (that was the word for it) and a list of activities had been made that you did feel comfortable with.

So no sex yet, but your entire neck was dotted red with hickeys.

Sometimes, though, the car wouldn’t take you to his apartment. Instead, it would whisk you away to one of Illumi’s surprises. These outings were always meticulously planned, and while you appreciated the effort, it was a lot to take in. Dinners at high-end restaurants (which you still didn’t really like), private gallery viewings (of artists you’d never heard of), even a helicopter ride once (you were kind of afraid of heights)—it was thoughtful, but overwhelming.

It made you feel like you needed to keep up, to repay him somehow.

You’d tried, once. You’d spent hours planning a surprise arcade date, something low-key and fun, the kind of thing you thought he’d never experienced. You’d saved up for it too, scraping together enough for the tickets and even a dinner reservation at a place you thought was cozy and nice. It had been a lot of work, but you were excited to surprise him, to show him you could contribute to the relationship too.

You’d been in the arcade hall for barely half an hour. He hadn’t shown any interest in the games you wanted to try, brushing off your suggestions and seeming uninterested in the bright-coloured collection of games. When you went to pay for some tickets, hoping to at least do that for him, his credit card was handed over before you even reached the counter, effectively undermining your effort.

To make matters worse, the dinner reservation you’d carefully planned had been canceled without so much as a discussion. Frustration bubbled over, and you couldn’t hold back your irritation any longer. Why wouldn’t he let you choose anything?

You’d put so much effort into finding a place you could afford that you thought he’d like, and it felt like he’d completely dismissed that. He hadn’t seemed to understand why you were upset, either, which had only made things worse.

Still, despite the bumps, he was giving you everything and it was hard to feel justified when your main grievance with him was that he gave too much.

It just felt like he wasn’t listening.

But if not being alone meant learning to stomach some well-intentioned over-gifting, perhaps that was just how it was. Or at least, that was the mantra you tried to hold onto, right up until the moment you found yourself standing in front of something you couldn’t stomach at all.

“What’s this?” you asked, your voice low and cautious, your eyes locked on the keys in your hand. They were heavy, the kind with an expensive fob that seemed engraved with actual gold.

Illumi gave you a steady look, his gaze never wavering. “Your new apartment.”

You blinked, trying to make sense of the words. “I can’t accept this,” you said finally, your grip tightening on the keys as though holding onto them too tightly might undo what was happening. “We’ve only been seeing each other for a few weeks. I don’t even know if...” You trailed off, your thoughts too jumbled to finish the sentence.

“It’s already paid for,” he interrupted smoothly, cutting off your protest. His voice was calm, matter-of-fact, like he was explaining a math problem. “You don’t need to worry about rent or any of the financial hassle. College housing fees are too high for you, and you don’t need to stay there. It’s the best deal you’ll get.”

You stared at him, stunned into silence. The keys in your hand suddenly felt like they were burning your skin. How did we get here? you thought, the enormity of the gesture hitting you all at once. This wasn’t just overstepping a boundary; this was obliterating it.

“Illumi, I don’t— I don’t feel comfortable accepting this. This is... a lot. I’ve been fine in the dorms. I don’t need an apartment.”

Illumi seemed to be studying you, as though he was weighing your every word. “I’m well aware that you’re not financially independent,” he said, holding a condescension in his voice that made you bristle. “The dorms aren’t a permanent solution. I’ve paid for this place, and it’s better than anything you could afford on your own. It’s already done.”

You recoiled slightly. “I... I don’t want to be in debt to you,” you said, voice tight. “It feels wrong.”

Illumi’s lips twitched, a hint of something—disinterest, maybe amusement—flashing across his face. “You’re not in debt to me,” he replied. “It’s a gift. Consider it an upgrade before we eventually move in together.”

The pressure in your chest intensified as you glanced at the keys again. You wanted to argue, to push back, but what could you say? The offer was so one-sided. So easy for him. And yet it felt suffocating.

“I don’t want to owe you anything,” you said quietly, the words more to yourself than to him.

“You won’t owe me anything,” he said, his voice steady. “But it’s already done. The place is yours. As the person responsible for your wellbeing, I consider it to be my responsibility to make sure your place of living isn’t covered in black mould”

“Illumi, we’ve-” You didn’t know what to say. “We’ve been dating for like a month, that’s not enough time to be giving me stuff like this. I’m not your responsibility, not like that. You make it sound like we’re married or mated or something.”

“Not yet.” He said, patting your hair.

“I didn’t say that to sound enthusiastic, Illumi” You tried to give the keys back, but he wouldn’t take them. “This is going way too fast for me.”

The words hurt to say.

What if he ended things because of this? You’d have nothing.

But…

“I think...” you started hesitantly, the words tangling in your throat. “I think... Maybe some space might be good for both of us. Just to—”

You didn’t even know how to finish the sentence. It wasn’t that you wanted to break up, you liked him! More than you had ever expected to care about someone so quickly. But your life had been shifting so quickly since Illumi had entered it.

At first, it had been nice—wonderful, even. The way he had swept in and taken care of things you hadn’t even realized you needed help with. It was intoxicating, feeling so wanted, so thought of, so prioritized after a lifetime of being forgotten. But these days, you had no friends, and your day began and ended with whatever he had planned.

You’d already been lying awake some nights, wondering what would remain of your life once he would start working after school again. Would you even know what to do with yourself?

Every day seemed to revolve more and more around him: his plans, his routines, his way of doing things. And while you didn’t mind it in theory—how could you, when he was so thoughtful?—you missed having time to breathe. And it wasn’t like this would last. One of these days he’d find someone else with a sweet scent and he’d forget all about the weird girl he dated in college. You shouldn’t let it get to your head.

You felt selfish even thinking about it.

Still.

The words weighed heavy in your chest, and as you looked at him, you could only hope he’d understand. “Just to... I don’t know, adjust,” you finished weakly, your voice trailing off.

Illumi stepped forward and grabbed your arms, cutting off your words. His eyes, usually so blank, sharpened into something predatory. Before you could react, his face was inches from yours.

“Space,” he murmured, his voice low and deliberate. “Is that what you think we need?”

“...Just a little?” You whispered.

“Wrong answer.”

One of his hands was placed on the back of your head, keeping you in place as Illumi pushed your shirt down your shoulder in one swift motion, ripping the neckline. You dropped the fob on the ground, trying to step back.

He leaned in, his breath hot against your neck as he placed his teeth against your skin.

For a fleeting second, your body tensed, instinct screaming at you to move, to push him away—but before you could even process it, he bit down.

The sharp pain of his bite made you gasp, a strange mixture of heat and cold spreading through your skin. His teeth sunk deep, leaving a mark that burned. The sensation was overwhelming, dizzying. You wanted to pull away, to scream, but his grip tightened, strong and unyielding, holding you in place effortlessly.

Illumi pulled back just enough to look at you like a cat who’d gotten his prey, his eyes almost glowing with a dark satisfaction.

Your heart pounded erratically in your chest, each beat reverberating against the raw, burning mark on your neck. You could barely hear yourself over the rush of blood in your ears. You’d been holding your breath from the moment he’d held the back of your head.

“Fuck,” you breathed, the word slipping out before you could stop it. Your voice was shaky, barely audible, but it carried the weight of your disbelief.

The weight of the realization hit you like a tidal wave. He hadn’t just bitten you. That was a fucking mating bite.

“You—you bit me?!” you finally managed to choke out, your voice breaking. Panic and anger surged through you, but you couldn’t seem to make sense of either. Your fingers brushed over the tender skin of your neck, coming away slick with blood. “That’s a felony, Illumi! What the fuck?”

His gaze didn’t waver, his expression as casual as when you’d ask him the weather forecast. Slowly, deliberately, he raised a hand to his mouth and swiped his thumb across his lips, collecting a faint smear of your blood. His tongue flicked out, licking it clean.

“That’s how much space we need,” he said simply, as though that was enough explanation. “Now you’re well and marked.”

“No shit, you marked me,” you shot back, your voice rising. “You can’t just—just do that without asking! What the hell is wrong with you?”

Illumi tilted his head slightly, as though your outrage puzzled him. “You’re mine,” he said matter-of-factly, his tone calm, as though he were stating the obvious. “Now even if you get ideas about wanting space, your body will know better.”

“I won’t be able to get rid of this,” You realized as you felt the blood seeping down your shirt. A mating bite was serious business. If one wanted to get rid of it, the entire glands in the neck needed to be cut out, a very pricey and risky surgery that you had to fly overseas for to get. You’d never heard of a beta getting one, and had no idea what it’d do to you. “This- oh fuck.”

You pushed him away, immediately falling to the floor, trying to stop yourself from panicking.

“You once said that it’s difficult for beta’s to date, because they live in a world where they have to guess, while everyone else knows who’s a good fit.” Illumi continued as he leaned over your fallen figure, his black hair falling around his face, closing you off from the rest of the room. It was just him.

“Th-that’s-”

He just looked at you as you started to crawl away, staining his floor with blood.

“But I disagreed with that statement.”

You were slipping on your own blood. You couldn’t get away fast enough. He was going to get you.

“We don’t have to guess either, because I know. I can assure you you’ll be happy with me, so you don’t have to think about it for even a second.”

Despite your fear, a new part of you wanted to settle down into the floor, to roll on your back and open your arms and have him closer to you. It was like an invisible thread pulling you toward him, tugging at your very soul, but the sick feeling in your stomach snapped you out of it before the thoughts could gain hold.

You wanted to leave. You had to leave.

“I can tell what makes you happy, and you don’t need anyone else for that.”

The words were meant to be reassuring, if he were to be asked, but they only deepened the knot of anxiety in your chest. The reality of what had just happened was sinking in, and with it came a crushing sense of helplessness.

“I didn’t ask for this,” you whispered, your voice barely audible.

“No,” Illumi agreed, his lips curving into a cruel mockery of a smile. “But you didn’t have to.”

He took a step towards you.

Summoning every ounce of strength you had, adrenaline gave you the energy you needed to wrench yourself up, your feet nearly slipping as you stumbled towards the door. You didn’t look back. You couldn’t.

Despite thinking he’d chase you, you reached the elevator, Illumi remaining in the appartment. A random man coming home from work saw you sprint out when you’d reached the bottom floor, calling after you that you were bleeding, as if that was new information.

As soon as the cool night air hit you, the wound started hurting badly, and it felt like your body was being torn in two. It was a bodily reaction to you knowing Illumi was getting further and further away with each step you took.

Your skin crawled, a disgusting ache starting deep in your chest, gnawing at you with the weight of his presence so far away. The sickly, yearning feeling only intensified the further you got from him, and you fought every instinct to turn around and go back.

But you had to leave.

Mariah had been right. His little brother had been right. Everyone had been right.

Illumi was dangerous.

You walked quickly, heart pounding as you made your way to the street. The world felt off-kilter, as though the very air around you was thicker, heavier.

You only vaguely knew where you were going, but your feet kept going, despite your body feeling heavier and heavier with each step. You had been out of breath after the first hundred feet, but your body persisted, fueled by the fear that someone was chasing.

People tried to stop you as you ran, a group of very concerned women even trying to physically stop you from keeping on running. You managed to side-step them, and none gave chase, the few shouts following you drowned out by the heart beat drumming in your ears.

A cold sweat broke out across your skin as the bond gnawed at you from within. Every step you took away from him made the ache worse, the emptiness spreading through you, yet you needed to get away.

It was outside your college dorm that you heard someone call your name.

“Hey! What’s going on?”

You turned to see Mariah approaching, her face pale with concern. But as her eyes fell on you, she stopped dead in her tracks, her gaze locking onto your neck. The blood marked your skin, the bite mark standing out on your neck.

By now your entire shirt was soaked.

Mariah’s eyes widened in shock, and she hurried toward you, her face a mix of disbelief and fear. “What the hell happened to you?” Her voice shook, but she didn’t wait for you to respond. She reached out, pulling you away from the street, her hands trembling.

"Mariah, I—" you began, your voice shaking, but she cut you off.

“No, no, no!” she said, her tone growing frantic as she looked you over. “We need to call the police. Now.”

The reality of her words hit you like a punch to the gut. You blinked, confused, trying to make sense of the situation. “Mariah, what? I just need—”

“Because that,” she pointed at the bite mark on your neck, her voice trembling with panic, “is dangerous, you could get really sick. Did he just leave you here?!”

“I ran…”

“You ran?!” she said incredulously, pushing her hair out of her face. “For fucks’ sake. I’m calling the cops”

Your breath caught in your throat, the weight of her words crashing down on you.

“No,” you said quietly, shaking your head. “I just... I just need to get away from him. Put some alcohol on it and ride this out. I don’t need the police. I’ll be fine.”

But Mariah wasn’t having it. She grabbed her phone, dialing a number before you could protest. “No, you won’t be fine. Forget bloodloss, you just had a bucket full of hormones pumped into you and you’re completely unprepared. We have to get you to a good place. They have separate rooms at the police, if I remember correctly”

As Mariah spoke urgently into the phone, arranging for the authorities to meet you, you just sat on the steps, fighting the overwhelming desire to run all the way back. The pull was almost too much to resist, but luckily for you, the running had completely exhausted you, meaning that even if you didn’t resist, it wasn’t like you could stand up anymore.

When she was done calling, she sat next to you and sighed deeply. You looked up at her and felt like shit.

“I’m sorry, Mariah.” You said, tears prickling in the corner of your eyes. “I-I thought.. I really liked him. I’m sorry.”

She sat next to you and let you lean against her shoulder, while she kept pressure on your neck.

The fact that blood seeped into her hands didn’t seem to bother her.

“I know, sweetie. I’m sorry, too.”

The sterile, fluorescent lights of the police station flickered overhead, casting an eerie glow on the walls. The faint hum of distant conversation filled the air, but you were far too disoriented to pay it any mind. You sat slumped in a chair in the waiting room, your body trembling, feverish, and aching. The wound Illumi had placed on you still throbbed painfully.

Your mind was clouded, slipping in and out of coherence as the fever set in. You could barely keep your eyes open.

Half an hour ago, Mariah had left for a bit after they’d administered some medicine to you, which did little but further nauseate you, promising that as soon as a separate room was available they’d move you. She’d whispered that she’d try and file a report while you were recovering.

You didn’t deserve her, you realized, and you definitely would buy some stupid friendship bracelet once you got out of here.

The door to the waiting room opened, the sound of shoes clicking on the tile floor breaking through your delirium. You looked up, squinting through the haze in your mind, to see two men in sharp suits standing before you. One of them held a folder, the other a briefcase. They didn’t need to say anything; their presence was enough to send a ripple of unease through you.

One of the men held out a form in front of you. “Sign here,” he said flatly.

“Whassdis?” You slurred.

“Release papers.” The man said, pushing the pen in your hand. “We’re moving you to a different location. It’s better prepared to handle your situation.”

You stared at the paperwork for a moment, disoriented, unable to focus properly on the words on the page. The dizziness in your head made it impossible to read anything clearly, and the feverish haze only made it worse.

“Shouldn’t…” You began, trying to focus on moving your tongue correctly. “Mariah, my friend, she’s here-”

“We’ll make sure she gets informed.” The man said immediately. “Now sign, we need to move you as quickly as possible.”

You reached out with trembling hands, signing the papers, your signature almost illegible.

The men exchanged a quick glance before they closed the folder and stood up. One of them reached down to offer a hand to you, and without thinking, you took it. His grip was firm, steady, as though he was accustomed to leading people like you around.

“Try and walk, if it doesn’t work, say something and we’ll carry you,” he said, guiding you to your feet. Your legs wobbled beneath you, but you had no strength to protest.

They led you out of the station, past the rows of busy officers and the quiet buzz of the station. You barely registered the surroundings, your vision blurring as you were guided through the entrance. Outside, a familiar black car waited, sleek and polished under the dim streetlights. The door was already open, and the men ushered you toward it.

You felt a cold shiver run down your back. Something was terribly wrong. But no matter how hard you tried to focus, your body wouldn’t respond. Your eyes kept fluttering, struggling to stay open.

“I need to talk to Mariah,” you whispered, your voice weak. “Is she coming with us?”

No answer came. The man simply nudged you forward, and before you knew it, you were sliding into the back of the car, the door shutting behind you with a soft thud. The men climbed in on either side of you, trapping you between them. One of them pulled out a phone and began speaking quietly into it, while the other sat still, watching you.

The car moved. Your thoughts were a jumbled mess, the fever in your body making it impossible to process everything clearly.

And then, just as the car began to pick up speed, a distant shout pierced the fog in your mind.

"Hey! What the hell is going on?!"

You blinked in confusion, trying to focus through the haze. Through the rear window, you saw Mariah standing on the sidewalk, her face pale with shock and anger. She was waving her arms, running toward the car, her voice desperate.

“Stop! What are you doing?!” she yelled, looking around at pedestrians as you got further and further away from her. “Get the officers! They’re taking her! She’s—”

The car accelerated, and you couldn’t hear her anymore, her voice muffled by the sound of the engine roaring to life.

Mariah’s words lingered in your mind, but the fever had already taken over, drowning you in the confusion and ache of the bond. You wanted to reach out, to call for help, but everything felt so far away, like you were slipping through your own fingers. You couldn’t remember where you were going, who these men were, or even why you were so desperate to escape.

An indiscriminate amount of time later, the car came to a stop with a soft, muffled hiss of the brakes.

You were barely able to move, but the men guided you out, their grip on your arms gentle yet firm. You didn’t have the energy to focus on the details as you were led inside, up a quiet elevator, and down a pristine hallway to a door that clicked open with a soft, satisfying sound.

Inside was... familiar. It smelled of bleach. There was something off-putting about it, but your mind couldn’t piece everything together. Your limbs felt like lead, your head swimming as if you had just woken from a deep, feverish sleep. But you weren’t sure if you had actually been asleep or if this was the feverish haze you had slipped into.

You barely had time to process any of it before the men pushed you toward the couch, and you sank into it, weak and exhausted, realizing that you’d sat on this particular couch before.

You looked around and noticed a shimmer on the floor, as if it had been recently mopped. A sigh left your lips as you realized where you were, and what that entailed.

The men in black stepped away and left, the door closing softly behind them, leaving you in the dimly lit apartment with only the sounds of the faint hum of the city outside to fill the silence.

Then, his presence hit you.

Illumi entered the room, his footsteps silent. You felt the pull of him—stronger now, more undeniable than ever—and your stomach churned with discomfort as he moved toward you, standing close but not touching you.

“Better?” His voice was low, steady, like a soothing balm against the rawness of your confusion.

You couldn’t answer. Your throat was dry, and every movement felt like it took all the strength you had left. Your body ached, your neck still stinging from the bite he had left, and you could feel the mark throbbing. You wanted to be angry, to demand him to take you back home, but your body refused to cooperate, instead relaxing in the immediate relief you felt being near him.

Illumi knelt in front of you, his hands gently cupping your face as he inspected your condition. “You need rest,” he murmured happily, as if not even noticing the pain and discomfort you were in. “I’ll take care of you.”

His gaze never left you as he stood, moving across the room to fetch a glass of water. You were too dazed to protest, too weak to do anything but sit there, watching him with unfocused eyes. When he returned, he sat beside you, lifting your head slightly to offer you the glass.

"Drink," he commanded softly. You obeyed out of instinct, your lips numbly parting as the cool water slid down your parched throat.

"You'll need to take it slow," he said, his voice quieter now, almost tender, and it would’ve fooled you if he didn’t seem so damned smug. "But you’ll be taken care of."

You swallowed hard, the water offering momentary relief. This wasn’t right. None of this was right.

"Illumi," you whispered, the words scraping painfully against your dry throat, "What do you think you’re doing?"

His eyes narrowed slightly as if weighing your question. "What do you think I'm doing?" he asked, his voice deceptively light, as if the two of you were playing a game.

You opened your mouth to protest, to explain that you didn’t want any of this, but the words died on your tongue as you felt the room spinning in slow, dizzying circles.

Before you could say aloud that you were feeling sick, Illumi was there lifting you with ease (your blood seeping into his shirt) and carrying you to a bedroom. Even delusional, you recognized your fucking sweatshirt as his pillow case.

He put you down on the bed, the sheets cool against your skin as he tucked you in. You wanted to stand up, slap him and go back home, to your own space, your real friends. At the same time, your entire body cried in agony when he stopped cupping your skin, wiping away some sweat from your forehead.

You’d heard it described mating bites as a very intense experience, but none had mentioned how out of this world dizzying it all was.

Though you guessed most omega’s didn’t sprint a few miles after being bitten.

"You must be tired," Illumi murmured, his cool fingers brushing your hair back from your forehead. "Sleep."

That seemed like your only choice, you reckoned, though you were terrified of what you’d wake up to. Illumi had dragged you from a police station of all places, meaning he wasn’t even scared of law enforcement. There was also the massive issue of the bite on your shoulder, and how you’d probably either spend your life by his side, or in massive debt from having it removed.

You closed your eyes, not having the strength to even curl up on your side. You felt Illumi’s presence by your side, his soft breathing, and the way the sheets rustled as he-

What was he doing?

Opening your eyes as far as you could manage, a heavy weight called exhaustion pulling them shut at the first few attempts. You felt the warmth of his body join you under the sheets, before he sighed softly and pulled them off of the both of you completely. The chill you felt gave you the little bit of energy you needed to hold your eyes open for a little bit.

Illumi manhandled your legs, parting them and settling himself between them, wrapping your legs around his waist.

“Illumi…?” You said, the words sounding sleep drunk to your own ears. “Wh-tre you doing..?”

Illumi just looked down at you as if he was surprised you were interrupting him."Hm? Oh. There’s a reason mating bites are usually made during sex. The shock your body is going through right now, sex will help with that. I should’ve mentioned that.” He tapped the side of his head as if to say ‘whoops’. “I thought one of those whores that you kept around would’ve mentioned that.”

Despite the fact that you should’ve focused on the first half of that sentence, all you could say was: “Don’t- don’t say that. I love-”

“Shh…” Illumi placed a finger on your lips. “You don’t need friends like that anymore. They’ll just tell you the wrong things.”

Dear god, this man was insane.

How’d you missed it, or ignored it, until now was probably reason to see a therapist.

You felt his weight settle between your thighs, the hard length of him pressing insistently against your core. A whimper escaped your lips. Despite everything, you suddenly felt wide awake, the realization of what he was planning shocking your body out of its stupor.

“ Wait! Illumi-”

“You’re lucky I have such control over myself,” Illumi interrupted, his voice deceptively calm, though his body betrayed him. A faint tremor ran through him, his hands clenched tightly at his sides, and his eyes, though steady, burned with barely restrained fury. Tears welled at the corners of your eyes, but he remained focused, his breath measured, as though each word required effort to contain the storm within.

“When you ran off, I wanted nothing more than to stop you,” he continued, each syllable laced with tension. “To lock the doors and make sure you were fucked, to keep you from making yourself sick. Nice of me, isn’t it?” His lips curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile, his jaw tightening. “I stopped myself because I knew that if I acted on that urge, I’d probably hurt you. And your little stunt made me very... irritated.”

His shoulders rose and fell with controlled breaths, but his body still trembled slightly, shivering with anticipation as if holding back required every ounce of his willpower. “I’ve given you the most important gift of your life, and you acted like I was wrong to do so.”

While talking, he popped loose each and every button of his shirt.

You raised a hand, trying to cover your own face. He was scaring you, and base instincts were telling you that if you couldn’t see it, it wasn’t there.

He barely had to exert any effort to pry your hands back down, his hair making everything but him fall away in the background, falling around your face like a curtain. “I knew you just needed to run for a bit and lose some energy. and then when you were finally tuckered out, I’d bring you home.”

“You didn’t do-” You couldn’t finish your sentence, a sudden weight leaning against your clothed cunt making you momentarily freeze. When you regained yourself, you tried to spit it out with the same conviction, but it lacked bite when you felt so vulnerable. “You just sent someone.”

“Someone I control.” He hummed, leaning back to manhandle your limp body, shimmying your underwear down your legs, tossing it through the room. “And my deepest apologies for sending someone else, I just wasn’t sure whether or not you’d want to be fucked on the floor of a police station. I assumed this would be preferable.”

“But-” You started, when you were interrupted by Illumi shushing you, his so-called self-control fringing at the ends. He took a deep inhale and leveled you with two simple words.

“Shut up.”

And with that, he got back to his task.

Illumi had stripped off his shirt in an unhurried, efficient way. But he didn’t bother removing his pants fully, only shoving them down just enough to free himself, as though he had no patience for anything more.

His pupils were blown wide when his gaze fell on you again, dark pupils swallowing every trace of restraint. The fingers of his left hand wrapped around the base of his cock, guiding himself to where your body lay open, frozen—because despite the panicked thoughts coursing through your head, your body had already betrayed you.

The wetness pooling between your thighs was undeniable.

Illumi sighed, a pleased, contented sound as he pushed in, sinking himself inside inch by inch.

Your body clenched around the unfamiliar stretch, instinctively adjusting as he bottomed out. The sharp pressure of him inside you forced a whimper from your throat, but Illumi only exhaled again—settling in, indulging in the feeling of being fully sheathed inside you.

Then, he moved.

The steady, unrelenting rhythm of his hips rocked your body beneath him, dragging you up and down against the mattress with each thrust. The bed creaked violently in protest, the headboard slamming against the wall in a lewd, rhythmic percussion that filled the room.

But you remained still, unmoving, limbs slack where they had fallen.

Your mind had returned to being present, aware of everything, but your body felt like lead. If anything, you’d probably have preferred to be hazy and subdued right now, as that would make the feeling of your virginity being taken in such a manner a little more emotionally manageable.

All the years wondering what it felt like, imitating the feeling of a cock inside you with your fingers or some toy you’d discretely bought off the internet, and now you knew. Now you knew exactly how torturous each drag of his hips felt, how painful the pressure sometimes could be, and you wanted to say that it was bad, that you didn’t want it this way and that you wanted him off of you.

But you didn’t.

You blamed the bite, the hormones coursing through your veins, but you couldn’t do anything but inwardly exclaim that it felt so, so, so good.

Illumi’s fingers tightened around your hips, digging into the softness of your flesh hard enough to bruise, his grip a silent demand that you match his rhythm. When your body refused to act on its own, he forced it to, pulling you down to meet every thrust, dragging you deeper into the movement.

Leaning down, he pressed his mouth against your throat, his breath hot against your damaged skin. The bandage there was hastily applied, rough and uneven from Mariah’s quick work at the station. He nipped at the gauze first, his teeth grazing dangerously close to the wound beneath it. Then, without warning, his tongue flicked out, lapping at the dried blood crusted along the edges of the fabric.

Savoring it.

It didn’t take long for his pace to grow sharper, more urgent, his measured control unraveling strand by strand. His movements turned erratic, hungry, his fingers gripping your waist hard enough to make your bones ache beneath the pressure.

Then, with a guttural groan, his body tensed above you, shuddering as he spilled inside.

The warmth of it filled you, seeped into you, and though you wanted to recoil at the realization that he’d cum inside of you, to push him off, some quiet, instinct-bound part of you didn’t.

Some part of you, buried deep beneath layers of confusion, felt sated by it.

Illumi’s weight collapsed against you immediately after, heavy and suffocating, his breath slow and steady as it fanned against your skin.

“That’s better.” he murmured.

For a second you wondered if that had been all, the rise of your own pleasure not having come to any conclusion, but to equal part excitement and fear, you realized Illumi was nowhere near done. He showed no signs of stopping, even as his softening cock slipped out of you with a wet sound.

With irritation lacing his movements, he took your shirt off, snaking an arm behind your back to undo the clasps of your bra. Once both articles were thrown across the room, he took in the sight more than appreciatively.

A little more lazily than his initial fervor, he lowered his head, taking one of your nipples into his mouth, biting down just hard enough to make you gasp. His tongue swirled around the sensitive bud before sucking hard, pulling more of your breast into his mouth.

He made eye contact at one point, and you could do nothing but cover your eyes again, feeling much too embarrassed and agonized to witness something so lewd.

He let your minor resistance happen this time.

Illumi's other hand slid down your stomach, his fingers delving between your slick folds once more. He could feel how wet you still were, your body betraying your arousal. Two fingers pushed inside you without preamble, pumping in and out.

"You’re not on birth control, are you?" Illumi whispered around your nipple, his hot breath washing over your sensitive skin, and to your surprise, his voice sounded more like you were used to. Casual, cold and more than a little amused. He bit down harder, sending jolts of pained pleasure straight to your core. His fingers pumped faster, curling to hit that special spot inside you with each thrust. “I couldn’t find anything like that at your apartment.”

Your stomach twisted. He looked? Of course he had.

Illumi released your nipple with a wet pop, a string of saliva connecting his lips to your breast. He latched onto your other nipple, giving it the same treatment, his teeth and tongue teasing the hardened peak. His fingers never stopped their relentless assault on your dripping cunt, his thumb rubbing your clit at the same time, pushing you closer and closer to the edge of an unwanted peak.

“I’ve…” This didn’t feel like the moment to reiterate how being intimate hadn’t really been something you dabbled in, and how could you? Everyone had flirted and hooked up using a language you couldn’t understand. It was also hard to think when all you could focus on was the feeling building up between your legs. “That’s-”

“I know, I know,” Illumi murmured, his lips ghosting up the column of your throat. “You mentioned it the last time I tried to fuck you.”

“T-then why ask?” Your voice wavered, hands still covering your face, unable to meet his gaze. The weight of what was happening was too much. “You’re a horrible person.”

“Am I?” He said, sounding genuinely curious, curling his fingers inside you, making your lower body slightly raise off the bed, chasing the feeling. “I thought you liked me.”

Illumi could feel your walls fluttering around his invading fingers, your body tensing as your climax approached. But just as you were about to tumble over, he abruptly pulled his fingers out, leaving you teetering on the brink of ecstasy, denying your much-needed release.

A choked sound escaped your throat, somewhere between frustration and desperation, tears prickling at the edges of your vision. Illumi straightened, resting both hands on your thighs, watching your reaction with the same impassive curiosity as always.

The silence stretched between you, heavy with unspoken words, the weight of your own helplessness pressing down like a vice.

Your breath came in shallow, uneven gasps as your body quivered beneath him, torn between resentment and need. The sudden emptiness left an ache that pulsed in time with your heartbeat, a cruel echo of what you should’ve been feeling right now.

Illumi tilted his head, observing you like a puzzle he was piecing together. “Interesting,” he mused, his thumbs pressing idly into the soft flesh of your thighs. “You want to be angry, but your scent is conveying disappointment.”

You swallowed hard, fingers curling into the sheets. “That was—”

“Cruel?” he supplied, his tone devoid of remorse. “Yes, well, I’ve heard I’m a horrible man.”

You didn’t answer. You didn’t trust your voice to betray the mix of frustration and something dangerously close to longing.

He only stared back.

Then, with a deliberate slowness, he trailed his fingers along your inner thigh, feather-light, ghosting over sensitive skin without offering relief. “Should I let you finish?” he asked, as if he were discussing something as mundane as whether or not to close a window. “Is that something you want?”

Your body still trembled from the cruel edge he had left you on, a sharp, unsatisfied ache pulsing between your legs. Your hands fisted the sheets, trying to steady yourself, to think past the fog of frustration and confusion.

Why?

Why was he doing this?

Mariah’s words resurfaced, and a sudden horrible confusion washed over you. All this, the bite, the sex, the longing, where had it come from? Why was he going so far? He’d bought you a house, committed a felony worth at least ten years in jail, and for what?

“There you go again.” He ran a thumb over the curve of your thigh, watching the way your skin reacted to his touch, the way your breath hitched despite yourself. “What are you thinking about?”

You flinched at the casual dismissal of your internal dilemma. “Why me?” The words slipped out before you could stop. The words hurt to say. “You could have had anyone—an omega, someone who—who would make sense.”

It felt like a betrayal to yourself to admit it but…

This didn’t make sense.

None of it did.

You weren’t compatible with him, a complete biological waste of space, despite all the longing you did to believe otherwise. You couldn’t be what he wanted, couldn’t feel the bond in the normal way, couldn’t take the knot you’d felt insistently press against your body when he fucked you. You weren’t….

Enough.

Not to warrant any of this.

Illumi’s expression didn’t change. “Sense?” he echoed, as if the concept itself was foreign to him.

Your throat tightened, and you could feel thousands of other voices joining you as you said something you’d promised yourself you’d never say. “ People don’t bond with betas.”

A long silence stretched between you. His fingers kept tracing slow, deliberate patterns along your skin, not in comfort, but in possession. Then, finally, he spoke. “And yet you dated me, thinking this?” He smiled, a little teasingly. “Wishful thinking?”

Your lower lip wobbled as you answered him. “I don’t know.”

“Shouldn’t you be ecstatic, then? I’m making your dreams come true.”

“I just don’t understand.”

“You don’t have to.” A tremor ran through you as Illumi’s fingers tightened against your hips, holding you in place beneath him. His touch wasn’t harsh, but it carried a quiet authority—an unspoken reminder of the claim he had already laid upon you. A claim you hadn’t asked for.

You never asked for the house, the extravagant dinners, the glittering parties, or the designer clothes. You never wanted the sleek cars or the empty luxury that came with them.

All you ever wanted was someone who saw you, who stayed because they chose to, not because they were caught up by some weird biological need to be with you, because that would never fucking happen.

Fucking monkey paws.

“You’re very tense,” he murmured, avoiding answering any of your questions.“Are you afraid of me?”

You stiffened.

There was no answer on your tongue, and even if there was, he wouldn’t have waited to hear it.

He already knew.

Instead, he moved, shifting his weight so that his body pressed flush against yours, his warmth seeping into every inch of you. His scent—sharp and full and probably filled with answers—coiled around your senses, and you hated the way your breath hitched in response.

“I wouldn’t blame you if you were,” he continued. “Most people are.” His fingers trailed higher, brushing the underside of your ribs, slow, unhurried. “But you’re not, are you?”

Your pulse pounded against your skin.

He exhaled softly against your ear, and whatever words you had been about to say died in your throat. His touch was methodical, exploring, testing, as if he was still learning the reactions of your body, cataloging every flinch, every sharp intake of breath.

And he was.

His fingers dragged lower, his palm flattening against your stomach. “Though I guess you wouldn’t know,” he mused, as if fascinated by the way you trembled beneath him. “I would have to tell you.”

Your nails dug into the sheets. “Stop talking like that.”

His lips brushed against the hollow of your throat. “Like what?”

“Like—” You bit your lip, frustration and heat warring inside you. “Like I don’t have a choice. In any of this. I can still… I can still leave. Maybe not now, but tomorrow. I- I can get surgeries, or- or something like that.”

Illumi stilled.

"No." His voice was calm, final. "It’s just the stress talking, so I’ll forgive you. But understand this—" his fingers brushed the fresh bite on your neck, deliberate, possessive and you’d wish he stopped fucking touching you.. "I didn’t do this lightly. You might think it was impulsive because of how sudden it seemed, but it was always going to happen. Sooner or later." He studied your reaction. "I would have waited until you finally got over your ridiculous fear of sex, but you forced my hand—overreacting the way you did to my gift."

He tilted his head slightly, voice dipping into something almost curious. "I still don’t understand how you convinced yourself that we needed space of all things."

Your mouth opened, but nothing came out.

He lowered both hands and moved up a bit. His fingers curled around your hips, guiding them with ease—positioning them. He lined up his cock again, the thick and long appendage once again hard and begging for attention, and your breath hitched at the pressure, the slow, deliberate stretch that forced your body to accommodate him.

Your fingers twisted into the sheets, knuckles white as you tried to steady yourself, to breathe through the overwhelming intrusion of him.

And then, finally, he moved.

A slow, calculated withdrawal before pushing back in, dragging a broken gasp from your lips. His rhythm was steady—deliberate—each roll of his hips measured and precise, as though he was testing how much you could take, how far before his knot would brush against your body, your body unable to take it. It wasn’t as hurried as the first time, where he’d barely taken a moment to breath in between thrusts.

“This,” He muttered as he bottomed out once again and leaned down to place his weight on top of your body, the push into the mattress heavy and suffocating. “Is all the space we need between us.”

#GYAAAAT #big W as always #I'd never thought of Illumi as the patient type of yandere #i know he thinks he is but his actions speak differently #i love love love this thank you v much #illumi zoldyck #illumi x reader

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spectral-devotee · 2 months ago

Text

About Last Night (Chapter 1) - Viktor x Reader (Explicit)

***

One night stands are supposed to be simple, but then again, nothing has ever been simple in Viktor's life.

***

You awoke to quite possibly the most annoying sound in existence.

"Ah, shit," you mumbled, haphazardly trying to hit the alarm clock with your hand, knocking off piles of books and god knows what else in the process. "What time is it ?" you groaned. A slim arm went above your head, turning the alarm off. "Nine thirty."

You lazely turned to the man next you, trying to stabilize the pounding in your head. The bitter taste lingering on your tongue was rancid. What did you even have to drink last night ?

"I'm warning you," he said, moving his body closer to yours. "If that was my collector's edition of The Laws of Physics just now, I won't be very happy."

His features slowly came back to your mind, last night playing in your head like a grainy black and white film. The golden eyes, the chestnut hair… the smile, the hands, the touch…What was his name again…? Something russian sounding.

"Viktor." you said, almost surprising yourself. He smirked knowingly: "Glad you remembered me. I wasn't quite sure you would. "

You looked away, unwilling to show him your embarrassment. A moment of awkwardness passed before he cleared his throat.

"So…last night was fun, no ?"

"Yeah." you replied, flashes of memories coming back to you in pieces. Him, everywhere around you, in you, wrapping his hands around your neck… a painful headache interrupted your train of thought. "God, I really need to stop getting hammered like that…"

Viktor smiled, his warm hands snaking around your naked body. "I don't have anywhere to be this morning. Maybe we could… keep researching each other a little more."

You let yourself be tempted for a moment, feeling his teasing touch against your bare breasts, before pushing away from him with some difficulty. "I can't I'm… I'm really late, I really gotta go…"

You got up, immediately missing the warmth of his bed, collecting your scattered clothes on his floor. Why was your bra on his floor lamp ?

"You forgot this." his voice called you back. You turned around the see him toy with your lace panties, making them spin around his index. He ran a finger on the still damp spot at the bottom, inspecting them with sly interest. "Not going to get far without them, are you ?"

Your ears went red and you snatched them away from him, putting them on almost bashfully.

"I don't remember you being this shrewd yesterday." you grumbled.

"I'm even surprising myself."

When you were fully dressed, he got out of bed, grabbing a refined cane thrown next to his nightstand to go get his underwear. You saw big marks of red lipstick covering it's handle and oh God, had you done that ?

"I'm not an expert at these kinds of things." Viktor confessed, looking around for the rest of his clothes. "Is this the part where I ask for your number?"

"I guess it depends if you want it or not."

He smiled at you, genuine, and you felt your heart tug. "Then I would like your number."

You grabbed a pen on his study, writing it down on a piece of paper. "So… I'll see you around?"

"I hope so." he said.

You threw one last look at the man, hair dishevelled, scratches along his torso, love bites all over his body. His smile was heart shatteringly sincere.

You closed the door to his apartment and left.

---

"Fuck," you thought. "Fuck, fuck, fuck-"

You were already an hour late for your first lecture. The way back home was nothing short of a walk of shame, yesterday's drunken confidence all but forgotten. You kept tugging on your too short skirt, unsuccessfully trying to hide the bluish marks already forming around your thighs and ass. You felt everyone's stares in the bus, and the high of last night seemed very, very far away. Images flashed occasionally, the club, the bar, the drinks, the dancing… and him. So different from anyone you had ever met, so strangely alluring… You shook your head, chasing the memory away.

You threw on fresh clothes as soon as you came home, grabbed what would have to do as breakfast, and tiredly headed towards a long day at university.

The rest of your first lecture passed in a blur; you slept through all of it, pretending to bury your nose in your textbook as you snored. Your vague dreams were filled with amber eyes and exasperating sweet nothings whispered in your ears.

Lunch wasn't much better: you couldn't fully feel awake even after three cups of the cafeteria's water downed coffee. You headed to your last lecture feeling like an empty shell of yourself, ready to go home and sleep for the next decade.

You sat down at the end of auditorium, hoping to at least doze off for a while; that, obviously, was not what your two front neighbors had in mind.

"And so, like, I told him "No way"," a bubbly, almost frantic girl said, arms swinging wildly. "And he was like "Yes way" and like, I said-"

You threw your hoodie on, bumping your forehead against your table, hoping to drown out the sound. Unsurprisingly, it didn't help.

"And did you hear ? Heimerdinger broke a rib playing with his dog. Isn't that crazy ? I think it's crazy."

You perked up slightly at that. Professor Heimerdinger was the one who was supposed to give this afternoon's lecture. Would it be cancelled ?

"Oh yeah, I heard that." the dark skinned man next to her replied, his deep black eyes glinting in amusement. "It's almost funny how much he looks like that dog." The girl shook her head in pity, her bright blue braids swinging along with her. "I kind of feel bad for him, but then again he gave me a C- last semester for "behavioral issues", so…" she grinned, tongue playfully sticking out. "Vi said we'd be getting his assistant for a while."

"An assistant?" the man replied, visibly surprised. "I didn't know he had an assistant. What's he called ?"

Before she could reply, the class quieted down as someone walked into the room. "The assistant." you assumed, putting your head back down. You'd get to sleep a little in that case.

You heard him before you saw him.

The repetitive, metallic clatter against the hall's concrete floor, reverberating all the way to you. In an auditorium filled with a hundred students, you heard it, the sound unmistakable even with yesterday's hazy memories. You remembered it close to you as you danced last night, on the way up to his apartment, all the way to his bed.

"Good evening class," Viktor said loudly as he came in, cane in hand. "Is everyone ready to start ?"

---

For the next three hours, you stared blankly at the podium, trying to decipher the joke the stars had just thrown at you. It was him, although much more dressed than he had been with you, giving Heimerdinger's lecture on the ethics of science. Like nothing in the world was more normal than that.

"And so one must ask themselves, should you truly wait for permission to change the world? It is a position that many will argue against-"

His words went in one ear and immediately out the other. You couldn't stop thinking about the night before, about his smell, about his taste, about the way he fucked you into his mattress until you saw nothing but stars-

"Alright everyone," Viktor loudly said, "read up to page 60. I will see you all next week." You blinked, surprised, realizing class was already over. You had spent the entire time fantasizing about the man who would most likely be your teacher for the rest of the semester.

Slowly, you gathered your things, feeling dizzy as everyone else left the room. What could you even say to him ? You went down the stairs hesitantly, unsure of your next move. He had already sat back down at his teacher's desk, writing in a compact notebook with focus. His thick eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, biting his bottom lip. He had worn a similar expression the day before, when you were bent between his thighs and sucking his cock. You swallowed with difficulty.

He didnt even notice as you pulled up in front of him, trying to gather the courage to speak up. The pages of the journal he was writing in were overfilled with endless words and complex sketches, and you realized just how much more accomplished he had to be than you. Hesitantly, you said : "Viktor ?"

He looked up. For a second, it looked like he hadn't recognized you, and your heart dropped. Then his golden eyes widened the size of flying saucers; impossibly, he went somehow paler than he already naturally was.

"W-what- why are you here ?" he spoutted out, looking like a deer in headlights. Any words you might have thought of earlier had vacated your mind, and you stared blankly at him, trying to make any sound come out of your mouth.

"School." you finally said. "I have school here. I study. I'm a student. In this class."

He stared at you incredulously, as if you had just grown a second head.

"That is- I'm-" he stuttered. It was hard to believe he had just given an university lecture on eugenics to a hundred people. There was no trace left of yesterday's intoxicating charisma or this morning's impish candor. "This has to be a mistake. This cannot be happening." He massaged his forehead with his fingers, closing his eyes, almost like he hoped you were a mirage that would be gone by the time he reopened them.

"Do we talk about this ?" you questioned worriedly. He opened his eyes again and threw furtive glances around, trying to see if any other students still remained. "Not here," he hissed "Come by my office after 5. I'm… using Heimerdinger's for now."

You acquiesced hesitantly, feeling like you were in some kind of strange, inexplicable dream. You stood silently in front of him for a moment, trying to make him say something, anything else. When that didn't work, you wordlessly left the room, feeling his eyes burn through your back all the way out.

---

Viktor rubbed his temple. Twice, for good measure. You were late.

Seeing you in his classroom felt like getting hit by two tons of bricks. He had to wonder if his career, his research, could ever recover from this going public. All of his work…

"This is all Jayce's fault." he thought bitterly.

Like the majority of bad nights in his life, it had been Jayce's birthday. For the fifth year in a row, Jayce had insisted to celebrate in grand fashion at a nightclub.

"But why ?" Viktor had asked, incredulous. "You're already with Mel, what other things could you possibly…do at a club ?"

Jayce winked, dark brown eyes glistening: "Mel and I are together, but it doesn't mean we're exclusive." he explained slyly, crossing his legs. "And Mel never minds when I bring home another pretty lady." he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively in the most annoying manner possible. "She's real good with them too."

Viktor groaned.

The actual club was about as bad as he expected. The strobing lights made him dizzy, the intense heat made his leg ache, the smell, nauseous. In record time, Jayce already had three women sitting at their table, ordering drinks like he wasn't also on a teacher's assistant payroll.

"And four more shots of vodka for the birthday man!" he shouted gleefully at the bartender; the women giggled.

Every year was the same. Jayce got hammered, convinced Viktor to drink with his frustratingly irresistible charm, and Viktor would end up chugging his own weight in vodka as he contemplated his loneliness and vomited in the ride back home. And yet every year, he still came.

Jayce had been his research partner for years now. Maybe the first person he could truly call a friend. As different as they were, they shared a similar passion for discovery, for science, for helping others with their research. He respected him both as a man, and as a scientist. When Jayce proposed doing their thesis together under Heimerdinger, he accepted. They could do wonders together, he knew it. Change the world for the better. Make things he could only have dreamed of as a child. That, however, implied he had to spend one day every year out of their lab and into the dark, overcrowded lion's den that was a club. He sighed.

"This…is not my speed Jayce. I'm no good here. I dont want to drink, I can't dance," he gestured frustratingly at his cane, "and I certainly can't attract women the way you do. Now, just this once…can I please go home ?"

Jayce seemed to consider him for a moment, expression comically serious for a man who was very surely getting fondled by at least one of the women next to him. "No" he said flatly.

""No?" Jayce, I dont think you were quite listening-"

"No, you listen to me now!" he said with conviction, and dear god, he was using his speech voice. No one could ever refuse him anything when he took that tone. "You've always helped me, Viktor. For as long as I can remember. Now, it's my time to help you." He decisively pushed the rack of shots to Viktor, staring him down. "This is not going to be like last year. Or the year before. What you're gonna do is drink this, go out there," Jayce pointed to the mass of dancing bodies, "and go have fun with someone. Got it ?"

"Jayce-"

"Viktor." Jayce said. "Please."

Viktor exhaled, feeling his will to argue leave him. "Fine." he conceded, chugging the shots of vodka one after the other. Nausea hit fast and hard, and he got up wobbly, holding onto the table for support. Jayce whooped in support. "But if anything happens-" Viktor started. "I know, I know," Jayce said. "Its going to be my fault for not letting you just work yourself to death all night in the lab, like you wanted. Got it. Now go have fun."

Viktor threw him an irritated look, grabbed his cane, and headed towards the dancing crowd. The heat was unbearable, the air thick and heavy. He recognized the song as something Jayce would sometimes put when they worked together in the office. He advanced, weary, barely looking at the faces of those surrounding him. How was he even supposed to talk to someone ? The alcohol was already making him woozy and he almost tripped against a stranger's heeled foot, cane falling down. Before he could bend to pick it up, the woman he bumped against caught it, putting it back into his hand.

"Thank you-"

It took him a moment to register lips were against his. Even longer to understand those lips belonged to someone. Before he could fully process the situation, the woman pulled away, eyes half lidded, twinkling and very much drunk. She was gorgeous.

"You lost this." you said against his ear, caressing his fingers against the cane. Your breath smelled of cherries and at least twenty different kinds of alcohol he was quite certain weren't meant to be mixed.

He stared at you in utter confusion: "You just- I-"

"Wanna dance ?" you smiled like nothing had happened. He nodded hesitantly, still stunned, and you were against him again, swaying your hips to the rythm of the music. He put a shy hand against your back, gripping his cane with the other. "I'm Viktor." he said over the loud music. You grinned. "Viktor…" you breathed out, lips caressing every syllable, making his stomach churn. "It's a pretty name. It fits you." you said, bringing your body somehow closer to his. He felt his own heart beat to the rhythm of the song. "Tell me," you said with the bluntness only drunks could muster, "Why the cane, Viktor ?"

He stared down at it, unsure how to answer. "I've always had a… weak constitution. It's a necessary evil."

You stared at him, seemingly pensive, before bending out and kissing the handle between his fingers; he almost choked.

"Not so evil now, is it ?" you asked playfully as you came back up, bringing your lips close to his.

"I'm…" he started, voice strangled. He could feel the tip of his ears burning, the vodka already muddling his thoughts into incoherent garble. "You would be right, yes." You smiled again, honeyed and sweet, and he felt your hips begin to grind against his. He sensed his pants grow tight. He couldn't remember the last time he had let himself feel this way, with a stranger no less. If he didn't stop it now, he wouldn't be able to stop himself later.

"You look like a stressed man, Viktor." you said against his lips, interrupting his thoughts. He stared into your hypnotic gaze; was he so easy to read ? "How about you just let it all go for tonight ? I'm sure you deserve it."

You kissed him again, sweetly, before pulling away, and he thought that maybe, just maybe, he could let his research go for one night. Maybe, he thought, staring at your still glossy, pink lips, maybe this was what Jayce meant by learning to have fun.

He grabbed you by the waist with one hand and crashed his lips against yours, feeling you tense in surprise. If anything, he was just as astonished at his own action. His worries dissipated when you quickly melted in his arms, slipping your tongue in his mouth, the feeling electric. In his fervor, he bit your bottom lip, any remaining fears shifting into satisfaction as he heard you moan against him. You wormed you thighs around his working leg, memorizingly rubbing against him. You bit his lip ferociously and he pulled away for air, slightly gasping. For a moment, he was alone with you in the club, faced with nothing but your beautiful, enamoured expression, licking your mixed saliva off your lips.

Then, the spell broke, and he realized you were still very much in public. He reddened, sheepishly putting a hand in his hair. "I… didn't expect that." you purred against his chest. "Me neither." he replied. In the background, he vaguely saw a brawny man drunklingly shouting something at him, waving two thumbs up encouragingly. He glared back, bringing you as far away from Jayce as he could. You looked up at him quizzically. "Dont worry about it." he mumbled.

And worry you did not; you wrapped your arms around his neck again, whispering in his ear. "Maybe we could go somewhere with a little more… privacy ?"

Jayce's words came back to him; he did ask him to have fun, but not where to have fun. Would leaving his friend behind really be alright ? On his birthday ? He glanced back at Jayce, finding him now intertwined with a woman from earlier, clearly very occupied if the way her skirt sat almost at her knees meant anything. Jayce would be fine.

"My… apartment isn't that far." he said, measuring his words. "We could take a taxi, if you'd want of course ?"

You smiled, as if you had been waiting all night for him to say those words. "I would love that, Viktor."

---

You kissed him until the taxi came, hands nimbly trying to explore as much of his body as humanly possible. A fleeting thought reminded him that Jayce might wonder about his sudden disappearance, but it all but vanished when you started fervently bitting the shell of his ear. He felt dizzy off the attention you gave him, drunken on your touch. He'd barely made it into the car that you were on him again, animalistic, pupils blown.

He absentmindedly gave the chauffeur his address, almost choking mid speech as you lowered a hand inside his pants. The car started.

"What are you doing ?" he hissed silently.

"Nothing much." you shrugged, slinding your hand deeper in.

"This… is illegal, no ?"

"Only if we're caught." you grinned, wrapping your fingers around his length. He flinched at your touch, breath shaky as you started pumping him with your hand; in front, it seemed like the driver hadn't noticed anything. His gaze went back to you, lingering on the way your hand moved under his pants.

"You're pretty big down there, Viktor." you whispered playfully. "Is that what the cane is for after all ?"

Before he could answer indignantly, you picked up the pace and he couldn't prevent a loud curse from escaping him. The driver, still completely obvious, threw a glance in the front mirror. "Everything good back there ?"

Viktor pursued his lips closed, knowing if he tried to open his mouth he'd undeniably moan. "Everything's good." you smiled brightly, as if you weren't stroking his rock hard cock right under the man's nose. "It's a little hot back here, would you mind opening the window a little ?"

The driver grunted in agreement, opening your side window and focusing back on the road.

"You got bigger." you commented quietly. "Do you like that he doesnt know ?" Viktor cursed again under his breath, feeling his release build up.

"It feels like you do. To me, it feels like you you're enjoying it. Maybe a little too much." As fast as it had been on him, your hand was off, wiggling out his briefs. You grinned slyly.

"What are you doing ?" he whispered with frustration, his erection almost comically stretching his pants.

"Making you wait." you replied naturally. "I figure if you should cum anywhere, it should be in me." Viktor's eyes widened, his dick twitching in frustration and want. "I will make you pay for that." he mumbled, trying to regain control of himself. You looked at him challengingly: "I'll look forward to it."

---

You both limped to his appartment, a mess of limbs woven together. He tried to open his front door as best as he could, hand shaking as you sucked on his neck. You fumbled you way to the bed together, clothes flying left and right, and you pushed him on the soft linen, half naked, straddling his hips.

"Not too much on your leg, pretty boy ?"

He swallowed with difficulty: "No, I'm…quite fine." You smirked and bent down, letting your lips collide against his again. He worked the clasp of your bra, throwing it off in the dark room; it hit something with a loud thud. "Excited, aren't we ?" you said smugly. Instead of replying, he wrapped his mouth against one of your nipples, making you gasp. He sucked fervently, pleased at the sounds you were making, trying to find which angle would make you scream louder. He did truly love researching, after all.

He massaged your other breast with his hand, kneading it vigorously, watching with fascination as the imprints of his fingers marked your fragile skin. When he felt satisfied with his work, he pulled off with a loud pop, admiring what he had done with you. "I did say I'd make you pay for the taxi." he smirked. Your voice came out shaky, trying and failing to be defiant. "Was… that the best you could do ?" you said with pretend confidence.

"I must say, I don't think I've ever met anyone who has been dissapointed in my work. I guess I'll have to put in more effort." Your eyes glinted in silent satisfaction. He gently pushed you down on the bed, climbing on top of you. He slipped two finger inside you, pumping them in and out as you whined.

"So loose already…" he commented, letting a third finger in. "Tell me, did you prepare yourself before coming to the club ? Is this something you do often ?" You only whimpered in response.

"Had it not been me, would you have let someone else do this to you ? Spread your legs to get ready to be bred ?" You cried out as he put a fourth finger in, almost in tears at the sensation. "Viktor…!" you wailed, hands firmly holding his back, nails digging into his skin.

He pulled his hand out, positioning himself between your thighs. His leg throbbed painfully at all the effort, and he gripped your thighs firmly, trying to regain his balance. You would definitely have bruises there come tommorow. You didnt seem like you cared much though; all your thoughts seemed to be focused on getting him inside of you, as you arched your back to get the tip of his hard cock in you.

"Darling," he whispered, caressing your bruised thighs apologetically. "Sweet thing. What do we say ?"

You looked up at him, moaning in urgency: "Please, please, Viktor…!"

He hummed in agreement, finally pushing his cock in you. You both moaned loudly at the feeling, holding onto each other for dear life. He slowly pushed more in and you hiccuped a cry at his size. "Shh," he murmured lovingly, "you're doing such a good job. Such a good job for me."

Finally, he was fully sheathed, cock throbbing inside you. Viktor took a moment to catch his breath, strenght failing him. Instead of the disappointment he expected, you looked up to him as one would a god, caressing his face with the tip of your fingers. "Your eyes are so beautiful…" you breathed out.

His throat tightened. Slowly, he began to move, driving your body into the mattress. You sobbed against him, and he captured your lips again, comforting you. Before long you were wailing his name, his rythm now faster, your hips working in synch with his. He cursed, groaning as he felt his release come. "Please," you said in a broken voice. "Please cum in me."

He broke down, body trembling as he came. Your nails dug in his back as you finally climaxed, and he thought he would forever remember the way you screamed his name.

He pulled out slowly, dead tired, dick still partially up from all the exertion you had put him through in one night.

"You're still hard ?" You mumbled against him.

"I would hardly say that's my fault." he complained back. "You're the one making me that way." You smiled coyly. Languid, you flipped him over and slid under the covers, resting your face against his inner thigh.

"What are you doing?" he said tiredly, slightly excited despite his own body quickly shutting down. You chose not to reply, and took his partially hardened dick in your mouth, lapping off the juices you had both left on him.

His face contorted in pained pleasure, the feeling too much just after his release and the night he had had. He mumbled incoherently, eyes shutting close at the intensity of it, and he whimpered as he felt a second wave come to him. He came again, hips pathetically trying to fuck your mouth, before coughing into his elbow.

"No more." he rasped, trying to keep his eyes open. "You'll kill me."

"And what a way to go." you replied with irony, coming back up and nuzzling against his side. Still, he felt your hand caringly go up his back, stroking it in slight worry. "Fine. I'll let you live for tonight. Goodnight, Viktor."

So this is what Jayce meant, he thought, looking at your naked form huddled against him, when he said to have fun. He smiled.

"Goodnight."

---

His thoughts were interrupted when you knocked at the door. He inhaled, trying to center himself.

"Come in."

You walked in, hesitant. You looked quite different from yesterday, your sensual glow replaced by the tired, erased shadow of someone who wished they could be anywhere else.

"So, about last night…" he started, looking at the wall; neither of you picked up. The tension in the room felt palpable, living, as if he could reach out and touch it.

"I'm not ashamed of it." you muttered. "You never told me you were a teacher. And what's so wrong about two consenting adults having fun ?"

He massaged his temple, index anxiously twirling a wild strand of hair. "What's wrong with it is that you are my student. Which implies that I have responsibilities over you. Responsibilities which I failed last night." He looked down at the floor, not willing to meet your gaze. "It was a mistake. All of it. You have my sincerest apologies."

The room felt silent. He couldn't find the courage to look up and see the face you were making. "Coward." he told himself when he heard you swallow a sniffle. "Fine. Have a nice evening, sir." you said, turning around and slamming the door, making him wince. He grabbed his cane to go after you, but stopped himself midway.

This was the right choice. This was what he had to do.

He sighed, opening his research journal, and buried himself right back into his notes.

#RHAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH -that werewolf image ripping his shirt-#amazing sauce #love your way of writing Vik and reader #bc that would be me if I had that handsome piece of a twink in front of me in the club fr fr #viktor x reader #viktor arcane

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spectral-devotee · 2 months ago

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Dear golden boy, whose love language is physical touch

#jayvik #jayce talis #arcane viktor

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spectral-devotee · 2 months ago

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no but even viktor's desire to be remembered could be viewed to be coming from loneliness. when I die, would anyone notice?

#jayvik #arcane #jayce talis #viktor arcane #fantastic art

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spectral-devotee · 2 months ago

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NSFW Alphabet - Viktor

As promised for my 800 followers celebration, a NSFW alphabet for Viktor, with a twist ❤! Instead of simple descriptions, each letter is its own separate small ficlet... Enjoy 💕

A = Aftercare

"Viktor, it's ok!"

"It is not! It is very much not "ok"!"

You watched him fuss with amusement around your bedroom, stark naked, his cane tapping the floor anxiously.

"I hurt you !" he spat out.

"It's not your fault," you answered gently, reaching for him from the bed. He recoiled, staring at the floor guiltily. "I should have known better. I did not want our first time to go like this."

You tugged on his arm gently, and he looked up, golden eyes uncharacteristically apprehensive. You smiled, caressing his shoulder tenderly, feeling him relax under your touch. "You have to admit it's pretty funny you're so big you made me cry."

His eyebrows furrowed: "I did not think it was very funny at the time, no. The bleeding wasn't much fun either."

You laughed softly.

"We just have to prep a little more, that's all." You kissed his arm lightly, staring up into his worried eyes. "We can try later again today."

He seemed hesitant, but didn't pull away as you got up to pepper his shoulder with kisses. "Are you… sure? Truly?"

You nodded, leaving another kiss against his neck. You finally captured his lips, reassuring him. When you pulled away, the fear had gone from his eyes. He had been scared; genuinely scared, more than he had ever been about his own health, at the idea of ever harming you. You squeezed his shoulder gently.

"Let me at least bring you sweet milk from the common room. As an apology."

You smiled, giving him one last kiss before sitting back on the bed.

"Sure. I'd like that."

He headed towards the apartment door, hand already on the handle before you stopped him in alarm.

"Viktor !"

"Yes, dearest ?"

"You're naked."

He looked down in surprise, a light blush instantly coloring on his pale cheeks.

"Ah. You… you would be right."

B = Body parts

"You called out for the Gods, earlier."

You turned to Viktor sleepily, much more lucid amber eyes locking deeply into yours. His body had been so warm and comforting, huddled close against yours, that you had drifted off on your own.

"A testament to your bedroom skills," you smiled sleepily, caressing his face with your hand. "Nothing more."

He hummed, detaching your fingers from his face and interlocking them with his. His cock lazily poked your thigh, still wet from your mixed juices; neither of you acted on it.

"I have never been one for religion," he stated softly. "But I must admit that… when I touch your body, a certain doubt lingers in my mind."

His other hand moved to the curve of your neck, long fingers tracing veins under the skin with assiduous precision. A slight shiver ran through your tired muscles as they trailed down, circling a nipple covered in purple marks. His eyes never left yours: he didn't need to look where he was touching, like he knew your whole body by heart.

"Nothing this perfect could have been made by nature alone."

C = Cum

"Ah…"

Viktor hummed as he pulled out, watching attentively as his cum started pooling out of you, mixing with your own release. You whined quietly at the loss, already missing the proximity of his body as he sat up to observe what he had made of you.

"There is no prettier sight than to see it come out of you," he whispered adoringly, gently smearing the juices onto your inner legs. "Except perhaps the expression you make when it is in you."

His fingers kept pensively painting your thighs with his release, almost as if he was writing notes onto your skin. You peered down, drowsy but curious, as his hand kept drawing on the tired muscles: "What are you writing?"

"The number Pi," he explained with a slight smirk. "In its entirety, of course. It has been coming up often in my work recently. I figure there is enough here for the first 20 digits, give or take. After that…" he trailed on, visibly enjoying your whimpers as a long finger teased your overworked entrance, "we might need more materials."

D = Dirty secret

It was warm.

More than warm, it was hot. Viktor was never one for extreme temperatures; the frigid cold of Piltover's winters made his leg ache in pain, and the boiling summers of Zaun made the toxic fumes even stronger than usual. The academy was under such a curse that night, excruciating warmth filling the halls after the ventilation systems had broken down. For all intents and purposes, it should have been annoying but achievable to work in these conditions. That was until the heat got so intense, materials started slipping out of Viktor's hands, falling right onto the concrete floor and shattering into millions of irreparable pieces.

At the third broken beaker, he groaned in frustration, glaring at his moist palms accusingly and at the clock looming over his work desk. Three am. In six hours, he had barely managed to make any progress.

Time he would not get back.

More upset than he would admit to himself, he shoved his notes off the table, grabbing his cane and muttering his way up to your chambers. For every step he made, the heat only seemed to increase, and when he finally reached your door, it was drenched in sweat and quite possibly even more annoyed than when he had left.

There was something undeniably calming about seeing you in his bed, sleeping, as if none of his work and miseries could enter your little bubble. He took off his wet clothes, only keeping his underwear as he sat on the bed, ready to begrudgingly settle in for the night. He slid the thin covers off you, and his eyes widened.

You were naked.

Fully, entirely, completely naked. A pleased little smile glued on your lips, you slept on without a care in the world. In all likelihood, you had just assumed he wouldn't come back for the night and slept in the nude for a little air. And in theory, you would have been right: if not for how frustrated he was, Viktor would have never left the lab that night. In practice, however, Viktor was tired, and frustrated, and warm, and hard.

He slid a careful hand between your thighs, the soft skin there drenched in sweat; you didn't even stir. He worked the flesh with his fingers, studying your sleeping form for any reaction. When none came, he pressed himself slightly against you, his cloated cock pushing onto your ass, his skin boiling.

It felt good.

He cursed under his breath, dizzy, pushing off his underwear and letting his length slip between your thighs. The temperature was scorching, unforgiving, and he closed his eyes shut as he started moving, the sweat between your inner legs letting his cock slide easily. He moved fast, with purpose, grabbing your hips roughly to reach his release quicker. You shifted a little, making a small whimper, but he continued, relentless, mind sizzling with that unbearable warmth. He thought of the experiment failing, he thought about the lack of support from the council, from Heimerdinger, from Jayce. He thought of his own death, and he thought of your smile.

He came, wordlessly, only letting a small grunt escape as he covered you with his release. He felt calmer now, as if his mind had cleared of the fog of warmth. He pulled out gently, cleaning you with a pocket tissue on the bedside table.

"Viktor…"

He froze, startled, looking at you with surprise. But your eyes were still closed, your breathing still even, the same loving smile tugging on your lips.

Tonight could stay his little secret for now.

E = Experience

"I may not have as much practice as people you've been with before," Viktor whispered against your neck, "but I can guarantee I'm the better student."

His fingers hit that same damned spot again, making you clench desperately against them.

"A-are you now ?"

You could feel his confident smirk against your skin, and his digits moved again, relentless, rubbing your walls with better precision than you ever had on yourself.

"Every time," he hummed, mouth finding your neck's pulse instinctively and sucking onto it, "I see something that makes you whine," he slipped another finger in, making you cry out like on command, "I commit it to memory. As a true scientist should, after all."

F = Favorite position

"Top. Quickly."

"As you wish, sir." you purred, not missing the way the word made his cock stir under his tight dress pants. "I'm not on top of your class for nothing."

Carefully, you pushed his cushioned chair away from his work desk, climbing onto his lap. His hands never left you, lingering as you moved and settling almost automatically on your hips, grabbing them approvingly.

"Obedient, and clever." he smiled, caressing the skin under your academy skirt softly. "My perfect student."

G = Goofy

"Stop laughing."

"I'm sorry- I can't-!"

You burst into laughter again, and Viktor's ears went red, slim arms crossing over his naked chest.

"You thought- you thought Jayce and I-"

"The possibility was there !" he protested.

"He kept touching your back for the entire duration of the gala !"

You giggled uncontrollably, wiping away a tear from your eye. He made a sound of disapproval, looking away in embarrassment. You tried reaching for him as he pulled away, getting off the bed and reaching for his cane.

"C'mon, come on, Viktor, I'm sorry. Come back."

He glanced back at you, eyes narrowing. "Truly ?"

"Yes, I promise. I'm sorry."

He examined you for a moment before sitting back onto the bed and climbing over you, stopping only to rest his forehead against yours.

"It is rather impolite to laugh when one is trying to be intimate," he said coolly, eyes dark. The embarrassed blush wasn't gone, but there was no mistaking the mood your outburst has put him in. "We'll have to correct that, won't we ?"

H - Hair

"You know," Viktor started, looking at his naked form in the foggy bathroom mirror, "I do wish I had a little more hair down…there."

You followed him out of the shower, the cold air of the outside world harshly hitting your wet skin. You shivered, looping your arms over his slim shoulders for warmth, glancing at the area he was eyeing wearily: "Why ?"

His hand trailed his bony hip uncertainly, grazing his spent cock from your activities in the shower, inspecting the bare skin there with doubt. "My body is not very… masculine. Strong," he sighed, absentmindedly toying with the little chestnut curls at the base of his length. "It is not very becoming."

You hummed, your hands trailing his bare chest, the hairless skin there marked by the brace he usually wore over it. You followed the scars with practiced ease, letting your fingers finally rest right above his heart. "I don't agree," you said, chest flush against his back. "I think it's very practical."

He looked back at you skeptically in the mirror.

"How so ?"

"Well, for one," you smiled, gently turning his body around and falling slowly to your knees. "It's much easier for this."

You kissed the tip of his cock, and he shivered, eyebrows shooting up. You took more of him in your mouth, glancing at him playfully as his breathing grew labored before pulling off with a loud pop.

"Don't you agree ?"

Whatever moment of uncertainty had hit him was gone, replaced by the self-assured gaze of the man you knew. His hands went to the sides of your head, holding you firmly in place as a confident smile tugged on his lips.

"I believe I require further convincing."

I = Intimacy

"This gala is a travesty."

You handed Viktor a glass of champagne which he begrudgingly accepted, sipping at it with frustration.

"It is a waste of our time. We could be back in the lab, making things that actually matter. Instead, we have to watch Piltover's finest, patting themselves on the back for their supposed great accomplishments."

You loosened his tie with a gentle finger, caressing his neck in comfort.

"I know. But we have to be here for Jayce. He needs us."

As if on cue, a boisterous laugh echoed from behind you as Jayce exchanged seemingly hilarious pleasantries with the rest of the council.

"He does not look like he needs either of us, if you ask for my opinion." He grumbled, downing the rest of his champagne. He discarded the glass on a table filled to the brim with extravagant desserts and an enormous cake ornate with a terrifyingly accurate rendition of Jayce's face, and you thought Viktor might be right.

"He doesn't need us," you conceded, "so why don't we go have some fun on our own ?"

You let your hand slide down his back, settling against his ass and giving a tight squeeze. He bit down a yelp just in time, lips closing into a thin line. You moved closer against him, moving your lips against his ear: "The balcony is closed off for the day. We can be in and out in five minutes, and no one will ever have noticed."

His eyes grew dark in a way you knew by heart, his hand snaking tightly around yours over his firm cheek.

"You are dangerous when you speak to me like this. More than you are aware."

His accent got thicker when he spoke like this, electric, and you bit your lip in anticipation.

"But it is not what I want for tonight."

To your surprise, he brought your joint hands close to his chest, gently kissing the knuckles.

"Let me bring you back to your room. Draw us a bath, have our fun there in our own time. And steal some of this," he said, glaring at the humongous pastry of the Man of Tomorrow, "monstrosity, and talk the night away. The two of us, alone together."

You smiled, not missing how the lust hadn't gone from his eyes, bringing your lips to his hand as he had done in response.

"Lead the way."

J = Jack off

It had to be on purpose.

Viktor glanced up from his notes to look behind him; it was there. Like every night for weeks now.

He couldn't remember exactly when you'd taken up the habit of dropping your coat on his chair. He must have gotten thinner, he assumed, and you had taken pity of his slimming shoulders and hollow cheeks. But some part of him hoped you had left it on purpose, so he could catch the smell of your perfume when he worked late into the night. That you had left it for yourself just as much as for him.

At this hour, his thoughts always mixed with the scent of flowers from the fabric over his shoulders, calculations replaced by something that was so purely, uniquely, you. But tonight was different; for the first time since this little ritual had become, he touched the coat, taking it into his careful hands and bringing it to his face. It was soft, delicate, like he thought your skin would be.

"Fuck," he thought, glancing frustratingly at his other hand and the way it had unconsciously gotten inside his pants. He would not be able to go back to work before settling the more pressing issue. He palmed himself over his boxers, the conscious of what he was doing electric through his body. Slowly, he pulled his cock out, spitting his hand before rubbing his length, your coat held tightly against his chest. He closed his eyes, reveling in the scent, pumping his cock with weeks of pent-up frustration. He had wanted this for so long.

He was so engrossed in the sensation, panting into the soft fabric as he approached his release, that he never heard you open the lab's door and come up behind him.

"Viktor ?"

K = Kink

"Are you done ?"

"Almost, sweet thing. Almost."

He petted your head, gently scratching behind your ear, and you took his cock back in your mouth wordlessly, letting it rest against your tongue. Your knees hurt. How long had it been?

You couldn't see his bedroom's clock from where you were sitting, but by the way the sun's light had dimmed, certainly more than two hours. But you wouldn't break first.

As if he had read your mind, Viktor moved slightly, finally looking at you after hours of sketching machinery.

"You are quite determined, aren't you ?"

You hummed in agreement around his length, pushing the tip against the inside of your cheek. He let out a small whimper, eyes fluttering, and you felt pride blossom inside you.

"But your efforts are misguided. I intended to stay here until I have finished my work, regardless of your… distractions."

You looked up defyingly, and when you spoke, you made sure he saw how it was with some of his dick still in your mouth.

"I'm not going anywhere."

L = Location

"This is extremely bad for my back."

"And yet you're already hard."

Viktor glared at you as you grinded playfully over his hard cock, your wetness barely hidden by your skirt. The lab chair creaked under your combined weights, threatening to give out at any moment.

"A biological reaction to the sight of you. It has nothing to do with being in the lab."

You smiled, clearly unconvinced, pushing his first few inches into you as he hissed.

"Really ?"

He grabbed the edge of the table for support as you took him fully in, nestling comfortably against him.

"I think you like the idea of doing it here. I think this feels even more personal for you. Fucking me in your little workspace."

You started moving up and down his cock, rhythmically, smiling wider every time his breath would hitch.

"The bed is much more comfortable," he grumbled against your neck.

"And yet you're not denying you like it here."

A metallic noise echoed in the room, and you both froze. Viktor's heart pounded against yours with panic, but neither of you missed the way he had twitched inside you.

"If I denied it," he whispered, grabbing your waist and slowly moving you up and down his cock, "I would be lying."

M = Motivation

Viktor waited patiently until you turned the page for him, fingers trembling.

"Viktor, I can't…"

"Where is the steam generator located ?"

You whimpered as he dragged his cock outside you impossibly slowly, your fingernails digging into his arms.

"It's too much, I can't…"

You looked at him pleadingly, humping the air above his length so he'd come back into your desperate heat. But Viktor stayed impassive, as if he was completely unbothered, holding your physics manual with the hands you wished so desperately would touch you.

"You said you required motivation for your studies. If this is not about questioning your knowledge, I will leave."

You swallowed with difficulty, trying to collect your thoughts as all of your body screamed to make him fuck you into the bed.

"Next- next to the reactor."

A small smile bypassed his cold facade, and he finally pushed his length back into you as you cried out his name.

"We only have ten more questions to go through. I will think about fucking you after that."

He would be the death of you before you even got to that exam.

N = No

"No."

Viktor grabbed his crutch, trying and failing to hide how much it hurt him to simply get up.

"I will not let you do this. Not for me."

"Viktor," you said firmly. You were too far away for him to do anything fast enough; you'd have ingested the shimmer before he even got over to you. And clearly, he was aware of that, his eyes burning with desperation. He whimpered pleadingly as you brought the vial to your lips.

"You absolute idiot. Everything I do is for you."

You swallowed. You felt the world grow dark, your legs buckling under an invisible pressure, purple washing over your vision. Viktor was next to you in an instant, falling on his knees next to you in panic. His hands cradled your face, cold, warm, overwhelming.

"You are the idiot," he whispered, voice broken. Something wet hit your cheek, and you wondered absentmindedly if you had made him cry. "How are you feeling ?"

When your voice came out, it sounded different, alien.

"Good."

A second later, you grabbed his head and pulled it down violently, smashing your lips against his. He recoiled in surprise, but you didn't let him move, keeping him firmly in place with a strength that wasn't your own. You bit his lip, drawing blood, reveling in its taste and he responded weakly, barely managing to keep up with you. It felt like a parody of your usual intimacy, your body not feeling like your own, craving his touch, his warmth, him. When you finally pulled away, he was panting.

"The shimmer…" he started, swallowing with difficulty, "has obviously altered your mental state. This was not a good idea."

"We have lost the luxury of good ideas a long time ago, Viktor," you answered, feeling the drug course through your veins. "We need to figure out if the shimmer is viable for your body. There is no better test than with mine."

O = Oral

"Mmm…"

You moaned in approval as Viktor sucked harder on your clit, hands lost in his chestnut locks. You teased the baby hairs at the base of his neck, twirling them between your fingers, and he hummed in answer, his tongue working faster against you.

"Harder…" you breathed out.

"Harder ?" he repeated, sounding amused. He gave a few kittens licks against your entrance, and you groaned in frustration, staring daggers into the mop of brown hair between your legs.

"Harder."

"Your wish is my command," he replied with humor, lips finally going back to your clit as you sighed in satisfaction.

And then, he bit.

You hissed in surprise at the sensation, grabbing a fistful off his hair roughly. He let out a curse between your thighs and you immediately let go, frantically apologizing: "I'm so sorry! That just- that felt really good, and it just came out of nowhere-"

He squeezed your thigh, and you fell silent, eyeing the unmoving head of hair worriedly. Slowly, he rose up, letting you see his face: juices dripped on his chin, drops peppering his aquiline nose. But it was his expression that made your heart stop.

He didn't look hurt, or mad, or frustrated.

He looked pleased.

He gently took your hand, directing back over his head and into his hair, his eyes burning with something dark. When he spoke, it was just above a whisper, lustful. Pleading.

"Do it again."

P = Pace

"It's a little slow, don't you think ?"

The gloved claw pounded mechanically into you, and you bit down a moan as Viktor observed your reactions like a hawk.

"It's-it's not bad."

"I rather enjoy a slower pacing," he commented. He fiddled with the hex claw remote, a smirk dancing on his lips. "But it seems to me as we should test the full potential of the hex claw. Crank the speed up a little. Don't you agree ?"

Q = Quickie

"This is nightmarish."

You huffed in annoyance, tearing the decomposing plants off the hexcore, glancing at your partner's defeated figure.

"We'll figure it out, Viktor. Maybe with a different combination of runes-"

"We've tried all of them !" he snapped, thumping his crutch against the floor in frustration. You looked at him pointedly, and he sighed, sitting at his desk tiredly.

"I'm sorry. I should not have yelled." The main tower's clock rang outside the window, a reminder of just how long you had been at work.

"It has gotten so late already," Viktor said, and something in his voice sounded melancholic as if each ringing of the bell took away a little more of his will. You observed him for a moment, his body sinking into the chair, before you walked over to him decidedly, slipping under his desk.

He looked at you cautiously, but an undeniable glimmer of curiosity shone in his eyes. "What are you doing ?"

You licked your lips, opening his zipper with your teeth. You pulled out his soft cock, resting your wet lips against the tip.

"Letting you calm down. I'll be quick." You looked at him from under your eyelashes, waiting patiently for his approval. He stared at you silently, amber eyes burning into you as if weighing your proposal, before giving you a curt nod. You didn't wait a moment, taking most of his cock in one swoop, knowing he wouldn't humor you for long before wanting to get back to work.

Viktor sighed, muttering numbers under his breath. He relaxed slowly, hands falling lazily into your hair, his eyes closing peacefully. "I hadn't considered it before but... if we install a cooling unit around the hexcore, we might prevent it from overheating and destroying the biological material it hosts... it could work."

You made a sound of agreement against him, swirling your tongue against the sensitive skin in praise. He looked at you in pure admiration, gently pushing you off his cock to look into your eyes.

"Astounding. Maybe you should do this every time we reach a dead end."

"Unfortunately, you don't make mistakes very often," you smiled, licking a bead of precum off him before getting up from under the desk. "Now, let's get back to it."

R = Risk

"Viktor, this is a bad idea."

"Really?" Viktor smirked, pulling down his zipper, pants flush against your bare ass. "And yet, I remember you telling me how much you wanted the council to go screw themselves."

The council chambers were eerie this time of night, the large meeting table Viktor had you bent against dark and imposing. His cock prodded your entrance, and you moaned quietly. He chuckled, his breath teasing the back of your neck as his tip entered your folds.

"Is this not the next best thing ?"

He pushed a few more inches, body hot against yours, and you couldn't help letting out a strangled moan. Your nails scratched the polished table desperately as he nestled inside you, leaving light marks into the wood.

"If- ah- if Jayce comes in late-" you panted.

"Hush," Viktor shushed, a thin hand playfully covering your mouth. "It is not very nice to say the name of another man while in bed." His hips moved quickly, pumping out of you and right back in, making you gasp around his fingers as he let out another breathless laugh: "Or on table, as it may."

S = Stamina

"Dearest…" Viktor panted, rutting against your hand. "You will kill me."

"Now, that would be a shame," you smiled, fighting your grip against his cock as he whimpered. "You haven't cummed in me yet."

"But I have on you, twice." he exhaled cheeks an impossible tinge of red. His eyes were lidded, almost rolled back into their sockets and full of unshed tears. His mouth was agape, drying drool covering his chin, and you thought there was no better expression on him than absolutely fucked out. His hips moved weekly into your fist, his thighs trembling.

"I believe if-" he started, interrupting himself to breathe with difficulty, "if you make me do it again, my bones might shatter in pieces."

"Mm..." you commented absentmindedly. You loosened your grip on his length and he sighed in content, almost sobbing when your thumb toyed with his reddened slit.

"Alright. I wouldn't want to kill you after all," you said simply, smirking as you took your hand off him to press it against your own entrance.

"You can watch instead."

T = Toys

"What… is this ?"

Viktor held the small bullet-like object between his fingers, clearly perplexed, and you couldn't help a laugh.

"You've never seen one of those ?"

"I cannot say that I have."

"Hand it over," you smiled, motioning him to sit next to you on the bed. "I'll show you what it does."

Viktor sat carefully, his cane resting against the bedside, curiosity glimmering in his eyes as he gave you the object. He studied your movements carefully as you laid down and lowered it to your thighs, pushing your panties to the side to let it rest against your entrance. His eyes widened slightly.

"Ah," he started, and you didn't miss the way the tip of ears had reddened. "So it is that type of machinery."

You smirked wordlessly, pressing a small button at the top of the gadget. It made a small, wiring noise, before it started vibrating, shaking against your thigh. You moaned dramatically when it touched your clit, delighted at the way Viktor's adam apple bobbed at the sight.

"I can see its appeal." he stated as matter of factly as he could, "but it seems a little frivolous for something I could simply do with my hand."

"Maybe you'd understand it better if you were the one holding it."

You guided his hand on top of yours, letting him take hold of the vibrator. He pressed it experimentally against your folds, and you made a show of quivering under his touch. He swallowed audibly, muttering a curse under his breath. "It is...not a bad invention," he stated hesitantly, the tightness of his pants obviously bothering him, "but it could benefit an upgrade. A heating function, perhaps automatic lubrication…"

He pressed it against your entrance, wiggling part of it inside you, a smile tugging on his lips when you grabbed the covers in surprise.

"If I did upgrade this… would you help me test it ?"

U = Unfair

"Viktor…" you complained. "Please…"

"Almost there, sweet thing."

You cried out when his cane hit your ass again, your cheeks burning like fire. You held on tightly to your pen, grinding your teeth as you wrote the answer to the final question. You turned to Viktor to give him your mock exam, and he gently wiped away your tears as he took the paper. You tried sitting upright next to him, whining when your ass made contact with bed covers. He hushed you softly, caressing your backside in praise as he read your answers.

"You get an 80% for today, with two questions wrong," he hummed. "I believe I said I would only fuck you against the desk if you managed a 90."

If you had any tears left, you could have cried.

"Viktor, don't…"

"I am not an unforgiving man," he said with a smirk, guiding you back down on your stomach with a hand. "How about some bonus questions ?"

V = Volume

On top of his many self-admitted qualities, Jayce believed he had very good hearing.

He could hear the pipes growling inside the Academy's walls, the pulsations of the hex gates as they powered up for another merchant, the first droplets of rain before a thunderstorm.

But this sound, he did not know.

It echoed again from the equipment cabinet, a low growl, raspy and fragmented.

An animal maybe ? he thought, instinctively tensing up. It sounds hurt… or angry.

He reached for the handle, ready to catch whatever might try to escape, freezing when the sound spoke in a very familiar, accented voice: "Keep touching me there…"

There was certainly a lesson to be learned there. Maybe his hearing wasn't as good as he thought it was.

W = Wild card

"I'm testing out a theory."

"Really ?" Viktor mumbled sleepily, holding you close to him under the bedsheets. "What is it ?"

You smiled, secretive, laying your forehead against his. "I'll show you."

You climbed on top of him to kiss his face, once just above his lips, and a second time right underneath his eye. He made a small questioning sound, pleased but confused.

"What… are you doing ?"

"Testing out my theory," you replied, moving on to his neck to leave three light kisses and a single much harder one, bitting the skin there playfully. "This one is a bit bigger," you explained simply, moving onto his shoulders. Viktor's eyes widened slightly when he understood what you were doing.

"Are you…kissing all my moles ?"

"Where I come from," you giggled, kissing a clutter of them on his arm, "we call them beauty marks. They say each one is a kiss from a god, and that you get a blessing every time it's touched."

He shivered when your lips touched his chest, the marks there dangerously close to his nipple.

"I'm half-convinced you have made that up as an excuse to kiss me."

You laughed, tenderly licking a spot on his bony ribs. "When have I needed an excuse for that ?"

X = X-ray (Size)

"I have loosened you up on four fingers, and yet you're still... so tight."

You cursed, eyes shutting close, hips moving on their own to meet Viktor's hand.

"I'm not tight," you breathed out, "you're -ah- you're too big !"

He knew that he absolutely knew that, but the smirk on his face was no less annoying.

"Complaining ?"

"Y-you wish."

His fingers wrapped over your jaw, gently but firmly forcing you to look down at his cock, its tip almost purple, a thick vein pulsating on its side. "And here I thought you quite enjoyed when I filled you. I must have been mistaken."

The bony joints of his four fingers hit your entrance harshly, and you almost screamed.

"You're never wrong Viktor. That's what's annoying about you," you muttered through your teeth. "Now shut up," you said, pointedly arching your entrance towards him, "and fill me."

Y = Yearning

"You used to almost jump off your chair every time I'd touch you."

Your hands moved up and down his back, massaging the skin around his brace as he hummed in content.

"And now I can barely keep my hands off you," he smiled, his own hands roaming your body. "What can I say? It's you. It's your lips, your neck, your breasts… It's you."

His body melted against yours, lovingly, perfectly, like a puzzle piece linking with its match.

"You have ruined an already broken man. I do hope you are happy."

You laughed softly against his neck, joining your hands together.

"Very."

Z = Zzz

Viktor slowly pulled out of you, muscles trembling at the effort as he all but collapsed on top of you. You rubbed his back soothingly when he tried to move, helping him sit up. "I should get back to the lab," he muttered, voice heavy and tired. "I have to finish drawing the blueprint."

You tuted in disagreement: "I'm not letting you go back to the lab. Not in this state."

His eyebrows furrowed and he stared at you, incredulous.

"But the blueprint-"

"I brought it." you interrupted. "It's in the drawer. We can finish it up in bed," you said, wiping his cum off your inner thighs playfully, "after cleaning up a little."

The surprise in his eyes was priceless, the tired ambers shimmering.

"Have I ever told you I love you?

"I'd love to hear it again."

#nsfw #GODDAMN THIS IS GOOD #like scratching an itch you didn't know you had in the back of your brain #thank you for the sauce #your characterization is 🤌 chefs kiss

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