#Grabs companies and corporations by the shoulders and shakes them vigorously

[theoogtree]

Something to be said about companies wanting to make merch clothes that are "more available" to their fans by which they mean "they just look like regular fucking clothes but if you squint really hard and do your best to reach you can see a hint of a fandom reference in there so no one knows you like a thing and you can pretend to be normal and hobbyless" and I for one think they should go back to slapping a screenshot of a video game right in the middle of a t-shirt

[saventhhaven]

Unexpected - Part 2

Pairing: none

Tags: violence, blood, helpless!reader

Word Count: 2,055

A/N: it took me a lot longer to get the second part to this written, but here it is!

Unexpected - Part 1

(Gif not mine)

Admiring your handiwork triumphantly, you slid the newly-installed chain to your front door shut. It wasn't a burglar alarm, that was for sure, but it did make you feel a bit more at ease, which was really all you could hope for. The ideal solution would have been to install a security system, but you just didn't have that kind of money. It had been just under a week since the break-in, and unfortunately, your anxious mindset hadn't improved much. If anything, it kept getting worse every time you relived your conversation with Sam and Dean. Monsters. Demons. There was no way. If those two men really thought all that crap was real, there was something seriously wrong with them. Sighing, you plopped down on your living room couch. Why couldn't you get these boys out of your head? You would give anything to forget the whole ordeal. Still... the sincerity of their explanation left you wondering if what they said was true. You shook your head vigorously, scolding yourself. All of your life, you had never been the type to believe in that sort of thing. Why on earth would you start now? Just because two maniacs started spouting it off to scare you? No way.

When your front door's doorknob began to turn, you practically leaped off the couch. Oh God, it was them. Sam and Dean. You knew too much, and now they were back to finish the job. Your heart rate skyrocketed as your door opened, but it was caught by the chain, and someone rammed straight into it.

"Ow! What the hell? Y/N?" You recognized the voice right away and scrambled over to peek through the small crack.

"Jamie?" Sure enough, standing on your front porch in the darkness was your best friend. The two of you had known each other for as long as you could remember, and you were about as close as friends could get. Shutting the door, you unlatched the chain to let him in. "I didn't know you were coming over tonight." Jamie held up his phone to show you his outgoing call log.

"Well, maybe if you had answered my calls..." He let the open-ended statement hang in the air, watching as you locked and chained the door behind him. He sighed and gestured to the new hardware. "You put that up today?" You nodded.

"Literally just finished, actually." Jamie gave you a sympathetic pat on the shoulder with a smile. He had been the first person you called after you kicked crazies one and two out of your home, and he knew how much it had rattled you. He flopped onto your couch with levels of drama that only he could achieve.

"Remind me again: why didn't you just call the cops?" You rolled your eyes as you opened your mouth to speak, but realized you didn't have a good answer. "Those wackjobs could be in a cell right now instead of running free. I swear, Y/N, you're too nice for your own good." You really should've called the cops. Hell, maybe it still wasn't a bad idea to file a report.

"I don't know," you answered lamely. What good would it do now? If those two lunatics had any brains at all, they would have skipped town already. Shaking your head, you padded into your kitchen. "I was just about to put a frozen pizza in the oven or something. You staying?"

"Yeah, I think so," you heard him call from the living room. Jamie's visits usually stretched late into the night, and you were more than happy to have the company. Although you had done your best to secure your home, being here alone made you nervous. Door chains weren't 100% intruder-proof, and you knew that, but you were trying not to think about it.

"Hey, I'm gonna grab a beer, do you-" When you reemerged from the fridge with two beers in hand, you noticed how close Jamie was standing, and the odd expression on his face as he stared at you. "Jesus!" you exclaimed. "You scared the hell out of me. I thought you were on the couch."

"I think I will take that beer." He took the glass bottle from your hand with a smile that, for some reason, made your skin crawl. It didn't quite meet his eyes, and you couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. You opened the freezer door to get a pizza, feeling a bit more on edge than usual, which was saying something, considering all you had been through in the past week.

"How was work?" you tossed the question over your shoulder even though you were pretty sure you already knew the answer. Jamie worked a corporate desk job, which meant that every day was usually the same for him. 

As you leaned in to see what your freezer had to offer something whizzed by your ear, shattering on the cabinets behind you into a million pieces. Glass shards tinkled to the ground, and the smell of beer filled the air. Whirling around in alarm, you realized that Jamie was no longer holding his beer bottle, but that he had thrown it at you. Had you not put your head in the freezer when you did... you really didn't want to think about what could have happened. 

"What the hell, Jamie?" you snapped. "What is wrong with you? You could have killed me!" For the first time in your life, you were afraid of him. Your gut was right - something was horribly wrong. It was almost like... When the word entered your mind, you felt a panic bubble up in his throat. Possessed. Instantly, the faces of the two crazy men from the break-in came into your thoughts, and you swallowed hard. "Jamie?" His name left your mouth cautiously as you peered up at him, trying to make any sense of this. Jamie blinked, and his eyes turned to pure black as a malicious smile spread across his face.

"Sorry," he replied. "No." Holy fuck. When Jamie - or whatever the hell this thing was - lunged at you, you screamed. Loudly. Hopefully, one of the neighbors heard you; otherwise, you were toast. And not the good kind. Somehow, you managed to duck under his arm and make a break for the door. Had you not been overcome by terror, you would have appreciated the irony of it all. The very chain you had just installed to keep intruders out now kept you inside, where your life very well may depend on you getting out.

Just before you could reach the door, you were pushed down from behind, knocking the wind out of you as your attacker pulled you back by your ankles. You were screaming bloody murder when he turned you onto your back, slamming you down hard enough to rattle the floorboards.

"Jamie can't come to the phone right now." Hearing Jamie's voice say these things was maybe the most jarring thing about the whole situation. Scratch that, the most jarring thing was definitely the fact that you might die. You were totally trapped. The weight of Jamie's body pinned you down, and your hands were restrained on either side of your head. The chances that someone was coming to help you were very slim, and you could feel that you were running out of time.

"You're a demon," you guessed, hoping you could stall until something about your dire situation changed. Jamie's features lifted a bit in surprise.

"My, my. Not as clueless as we look, are we?"

"I sure as hell knew better than to think you were Jamie, you son of a bitch." The demon growled angrily, and you knew right away that you had made a mistake. Grabbing you roughly by the shoulders, he pulled you up before slamming you back down again. This time, your head made contact, and you saw stars. The demon's eyes glinted maliciously.

"See, that's where you're wrong," he hissed. "You thought I was your Jamie when I first came in." Before you could respond, the demon struck you across the face hard, causing you to let out a cry. "He has so many fond memories of you in here," he informed you, tapping his temple. "I wonder how difficult it would be to break him. Surely, killing you would be a good start, don't you think?" When his fist came at your face, you barely had time to recover before he came at you again, striking blow after blow. By the time he was finished, blood and tears mingled on your swollen face, and your mind lingered somewhere in the purgatory between consciousness and unconsciousness.

"Hm. I expected you to put up quite the fight. What a pity." As the demon raised Jamie's fist to hit you again, your front door flew open with a bang, and the chunk of the wall where you had screwed in the door chain's anchor went flying. So much for increased security.

"Get off of her!" The gruff voice sounded familiar, but you couldn't quite place it in this state. Heavy footsteps pounded on the floor toward you, and suddenly the weight holding you down was gone as you lost consciousness.

"You're okay, I got you." Someone lifted you into a sitting position, helping you come back to your senses. Head pounding, you blinked a few times, still feeling a bit woozy. "You really got the worst of that," the familiar voice continued. That was for damn certain. You felt like you had been run over by a truck. "You with me?" The familiar face in front of you finally registered, and you smiled weakly.

"You were definitely right about demons." Relief eased Sam's serious expression, and he rocked back onto his heels, crouched in front of you. You never thought you would be thinking this, but damn, it was good to see him. Now that you knew he wasn't, in fact, a home invader, it was good to know that you were in the hands of someone who knew what the hell was going on. If demons were actually real, that meant everything else was, too. "This is insane," you breathed.

"Insane is kinda what we do," Sam admitted. Another round of head pounding hit you, and you groaned in pain.

"Yeah, you're gonna want to put some ice on that," Dean said wryly. As you stood, you took a look around your living room, which was still surprisingly intact. "Not every day you get your ass kicked like that." You shook your head.

"Jamie didn't-"As soon as you said his name, your eyes went wide, and your heart dropped into your stomach. "Jamie! Is he all right? Where is he?" Sam gestured to the couch, and you scrambled to your feet, rushing to Jamie's unconscious form. His eyes moved behind closed lids as you brushed the hair from his face, and took his hand.

"He should be fine now," Sam reassured. "He probably won't remember much, and he'll be confused when he wakes up." Fear lingered in the pit of your stomach as you were reminded of how the pair of pitch-black eyes gleamed back at you. You swallowed hard.

"And is the demon still..?" Dean shook his head at your open-ended question.

"No, we exorcised it. But that doesn't mean it's gone. It could have gone after anyone in this town that was unprotected." You weren't entirely sure what that meant, but you had a sneaking suspicion that neither you nor Jamie was safe. "Does that mean you're sticking around for a while?" you asked hopefully. Dean gave a nonchalant shrug in response.

"Probably." Jamie groaned from the couch as he began to stir, and you turned your attention back to him.

"We should probably get out of here," Sam recommended to his brother. "Before he wakes up."

"Yeah," Dean agreed. "See you around, Y/N." As the two tall men headed for the front door, you looked up at them.

"Thank you. Seriously." And then they were gone as quickly as they came.

"Y/N?" Jamie stared up at you, blearily from the couch. "What the hell happened?" With a heavy sigh, you gave his arm a reassuring pat.

"Jamie, I have one hell of a story for you."

Thanks for reading!

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[hatter-and-his-tea]

I’ve been obsessed with this manga, to the point that my brain can’t stop thinking of what would happened in the next chapter... and since the next chapter might be couple of months away (or 1 month-ish, if it’s in October), I decided to write my own take on the storyline so my mind could stop this obsession.

(I couldn’t even write my TezuFuji’s prequel fic for the omegaverse because of this pairing... I really like them more than the first one - I’m sorry!)

Read more, if you wanna read my prediction / outline / my take on the next chapter.

CHAPTER 6 - SCENARIO WHERE UTOU FINALLY SNAPPED

“Alpha… alpha…” The words kept on repeating inside his mind and it made sick.

He finally snapped and brought the heated omega to the floor. Sumi yelped out loud, dazed at the sudden action.

“Alpha this… alpha that… spare me the crap.” Utou said out loud. “You all just the same.” With that, he slid Sumi’s pants and undergarments at the same time, revealing an erect cock that was leaking.

Sumi quickly covered his private parts even though his inside was twitching.

“S-stop!” Cried the omega. “W-what are you doing!!?”

“What you wanted, right?” Utou answered with a finger inside the twitching entrance.

Sumi arched his body and cried out loud. The induced heat created by Alpha’s pheromone made his body more sensitive. He quickly covered his moans using his hands.

Utou was also feeling it. He kept stretching the twitching entrance with his fingers. He also stroked the leaking entrance.

Maybe it was the potent pheromone that made his mind goes blank. He was also hard as he stretched the red and leaking entrance to the limit.

Sumi’s lower body was reacting to the touch. He was flushed red and crying. The touch was rougher than before and it brought back some past memories. Even though his body was craving for it, his mind wasn’t.

Utou’s fingers went deeper and pushed that particular spot. Sumi quickly buckled his body and used his legs to hit Utou. His body trembling.

“Seriously.. you…” Utou protested, carressing the bruise on his face.

He then removed his tie and the top buttons on his shirt. He grabbed Sumi again and forced him to turn around. Using his neck tie, he tied Sumi’s hand together and proceed to unziped his pants.

Sumi’s entrance was leaking and dripping wet, same with his erect manhood. The room was filled with Sumi’s strong pheromone.

Before Sumi could protest, Utou penetrated the tight hole, drawing cries from the omega.

Utou started moving and biting Sumi’s back when he heard the soft whispers.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” Sumi kept repeating with tears in his eyes.

Utou finally regained his senses and he pulled out immediately. Apologizing to Sumi.

“Oi…” Utou said to the shocked omega. Sumi was hardly conscious and Utou cradled him in his arms.

He kissed the crying figure on the forehead and release the tie around his wrist.

“Grab on to me…” Whispered Utou. He then proceeded to place Sumi’s hands on his shoulder.

Sumi continued to cry when Utou stroked their erections together. The beta male gently placed kisses on the crying face, offering words of comfort.

Lustful moans started to escape from Sumi’s lips. The omega started grinding his hips against the beta male.

After couple more strokes, they came together.

CHAPTER 7 - AFTERMATH + SET UP (I wrote this like a combination of summary and fic with dialogue)

Slowly, Sumi opened his eyes. He was on the living room’s sofa, naked but covered by a blanket. He realized his heat was gone and he felt a lot better, but his body was aching. He also realized it was already nighttime and his stomach growled in hunger.

He then heard the door opened, alerting him of another presence in the room. He quickly covered his naked body with the blanket and saw Utou with two plastic bags in his hands.

“Oh.. You awake…” The beta male said to him.

Dumbfounded, Sumi was almost speechless when Utou came closer. He felt a hand caressing his cheek.

“How you feeling?” Asked the beta.

“What… are you doing here?” Sumi asked him back.

Utou lifted up couple of plastic bags and took out two take away ramen (or bento box.. bento box could also work).

“Dinner…” Answered Utou. The spiky haired man placed the take away dinner on the coffee table.

Sumi touched his stomach, he was also hungry. He looked at food silently and opened lid to find a scorching hot meal. It has been 3 days since he has a nice warm meal.

“Itadakimasu.” Said Sumi as he split the wooden chopstick and started eating. Utou also joined and watched the omega eating vigorously.

“I’m sorry… about before.” Utou apologized as he started eating. “I won’t touch you ever again.”

Sumi stopped eating and grabbed the blanket tighter, to fully cover his naked body.

“You know… I never asked for this.” He said, referring to his life as an omega.

“Me too.” Utou replied easily.

Sumi groaned, rather annoyed at the answer, and went back to his food. He continued eating until Utou asked him another question.

“That man.. from yesterday, who was he?”

“My brother…” (Yes.. I have a feeling that it might be his brother – a family member at least.. Too young looking to be the parents.

“Your brother?”

“As I said before, my parents are mateless omega. They can’t really hold jobs because of their severe heat, like me. And without proper jobs, we won’t have the money to buy suppressant and without suppressant, my parents won’t be able to have proper jobs.” Explained Sumi. “So I worked hard from the start to be able to support them, hence that job as a host.” (This one is all speculation)

….

With the heat gone, Sumi was safe to go back to the office. With his smile and cheerful attitude, he pretended everything was all right.

Utou looked at the omega with disbelieve. He was about to have a talk with Sumi when General Manager Hio called for the omega.

Sumi left Utou with a smile, but Utou realized the trembling hands.

At General Manager Hio’s office, Sumi sat down and had a talk about that incident. Hio explained that the incident wasn’t his fault and he would not be blame for putting Sumi in such situation.

Rather than being angry, Sumi smiled and told the Manager that he understands.

“Please bring me to the next meeting.” He said instead, fully accepting his role as a ‘breeding mare’ in the company.

If sleeping around would bring him up the corporate ladder, then he would do it.

Unbeknownst to them, Utou was outside, having overheard the conversation. The beta male quickly barged in and protested about the deal. He took Sumi hand and went outside, somewhere more private.

“What are you thinking!!??” Utou yelled at the omega male.

Sumi pulled his hand away from the beta’s grip and yelled back.

“It’s my body!!” He said. “I do whatever I want with it. If I can use this body to my advantage, then I should use it to the fullest.”

“Whatever happened to ‘I won’t be selling my body even if I die’!!?”

“I was naïve then…” Sumi replied quietly. His eyes looked down on Utou before walking away from the beta male.

CHAPTER 8

Flashback to Utou and his one sided love with Karasuma.

Although angry and annoyed at the young omega, Utou was also worried. He decided to have a talk with Karasuma to explain the current situation.

Karasuma and Takaba were also worried at the current situation. From looking at the current schedule and timeline, they deduced the next client and where the meeting would take place.

Utou was about to leave the room when Karasuma held him back.

“Are you prepared to do whatever it takes?” (or something like that… some important conversation to strengthen Utou’s resolve.

Utou quickly understood and nod, he then quickly left to find Sumi.

The younger omega was in a private room with some alpha clients. General Manager Hio was also there to supervise.

The alpha clients started touching Sumi, groping him and slipping their hands underneath Sumi’s shirt.

Although disgusted, Sumi kept his smile and tried to sweet talk his way to the clients.

The alphas then pushed him to the ground and started to undress the omega male. It was then that the reality started to hit Sumi.

The strong alpha pheromones were affecting him. His body felt hot but he couldn’t come to term with strangers touching his body. He started struggling to the point of hitting one of the alpha.

“The fuck…” Said the alpha male, nursing the injured face.

“No… I don’t want this…” Sumi yelped out, trying to break free from the other alphas.

Manager Hio looked at the omega coldly and gave a warning to Sumi, rather than helping.

“If you can’t even do this much, there’s no point in keeping you.”

Sumi went quiet immediately. He was scared to lose his jobs. He stopped struggling as the alpha inserted his fingers inside the leaking hole.

“You said you don’t want it but you are leaking here.”

Sumi could only whimpered as the fingers went in and out of him. He was shaking his hips, despite feeling disgusted by the fingers. His heart cried out for Utou’s gentle touch.

The alpha male withdrew his fingers and positioned his manhood on the twitching entrance. He was about to push when the door slid opened.

Utou appeared, barging into the room roughly and surprising everyone in the room.

“Come on, we are leaving.” Utou told Sumi and was about to grab the omega when Manager Hio (or some other alpha) grabbed the beta male.

“Now now….” Said Manager Hio. “Sasabe-san agreed to this and you should respect that… or is it because you want some as well?”

One of the alpha male started to unzip Utou’s pants and it brought Sumi back to the situation in high school. He started crying again when Utou brought the alphas and manager Hio to the ground. (Karate / Judo style).

“Don’t fucking kidding me!” He yelled out.

Fixing his pants, he grabbed Sumi and covered the omega with his jackets.

“I quit.” Utou said before leaving the room with Sumi in his arms.

(Woot you go Utou boy (if this really happened)).

CHAPTER 9 (last one)

Utou brought Sumi back to the omega’s apartment. He dropped the younger male on the floor and was about to grab some water when Sumi grabbed hold of him.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” Repeated the heated Omega again and again. His body was drenched in sweat and flushed red. The heat appeared worse than before.

Utou tried to break free to get some water but Sumi wouldn’t let him go. He continued to cry on beta’s chest, wetting the work shirt.

Gently, Utou held the body closer and kissed the soft hair. He then started trailing down, leaving kisses on Sumi’s face. He cupped the crying face, forehead to forehead, and planted a kiss on the omega.

Sumi was surprised at first but he let Utou’s tongue to slip inside. The sobbing turned to moan as his body fall to the floor below.

Utou continued kissing him while his hands pinched the redden nipples. Sumi held the beta’s body tightly, moaning and shaking his hips.

When Utou broke the kiss, he realized that Sumi had cum but the omega’s manhood was still hard. Sumi continued to pant for air when Utou left kisses on the exposed chest. He sucked the red nipple while his hand busy stroking Sumi’s leaking erection.

Sweet pheromones leaked from the omega body. It started to affect Utou as he slid lower, taking Sumi’s erection to his mouth.

The younger omega moaned and buckled his hips. His body trembled from the warm mouth.

“Aaa… Ughm!! Nno.” He moaned, gripping Utou’s spiky hair.

Two fingers went inside the omega body. It slipped past the puckered entrance easily to find that particular spot. Utou pushed the bumpy flesh hard, causing Sumi to cry out loud. He almost came for the second time.

“Put… put it in…” He whispered as he stopped Utou from sucking him.

The beta male looked back with his eyes wide opened.

“Put it in…” Repeated Sumi, out of breath.

Utou hovered above the flushed omega and stroked Sumi’s hair.

“You sure..?” Utou asked gently, while caressing the wet cheek.

“Uhm.” Nodded the omega as he grabbed hold of the warm hand and let it rubbed against his cheek. “Please…” He whispered, shifting his legs to indicate that he was ready.

Utou felt his heart pounding rapidly. His body was burning up and the sweet pheromone started to affect him.

As quickly as he could, the beta male unfastened his pants and took out his erect manhood. He then positioned it at the leaking entrance. Grabbing the omega’s legs, Utou pushed through the twitching entrance, drawing loud cries from Sumi.

“Hgnn… Hnn…” Cried the omega. Tears were running down Sumi’s eyes again.

Gently, Utou hovered above the younger male and cradled the trembling body. He kissed the dripping tears away and held Sumi close.

“Are you okay?” He asked the trembling body.

Sumi nodded and held Utou tightly, whispering his name.

Utou grunted from hearing his name. He pushed in deeper before slipping in and out of the leaking entrance. Their hands intertwined, gripping each other tightly until their release.

….

Sumi woke up on his bed with an aching body.

Slowly, he realized the warm body sleeping next to him. Utou’s hands were wrapped around his naked body. Sumi’s first instinct was to pull away from the beta and so he kicked Utou to the floor.

“Ouch!….” Complained the beta.

Utou was also naked and it caused Sumi’s face to go bright red. The events from previous night entered his brain again.

Utou noticed the flushed omega and picked himself up from the floor. He kissed Sumi on the lips and cradled the body closer.

“We should buy some birth control today…” Utou suddenly said, “Just in case.”

Sumi’s face went even redder.

EXTRA (idea for EXTRA)

Even though Utou is a good worker, the companies are not looking for anyone. So he struggled in getting a job.

Sumi went back to work as a host, even though they both don’t like it. He came home one day in heat, having been affected by an alpha.

They had ‘passionate sex’ (lol).

Eventually Karasuma found another job for Utou in another company, through his connecton/ network.

EXTRA EXTRA / SIDE PLOT

Sumi stumbled upon his childhood friend when he was out walking with Utou. They got separated for a bit and the omega male bumped into that beta childhood friend.

The beta friend tried to apologize but Sumi ran away before they could resolve the tension. Utou easily noticed the strange behavior.

The beta friend and Utou eventually met up and they had a talk, discussing about the rape.

The childhood friend was also traumatized by his behavior and his failure to protect Sumi.

Utou swore that he would protect Sumi, no matter what.

Satisfied, the friend parted.

Utou went home and saw that Sumi was still depressed / bothered by the encounter. They had a talk / comfort sex.

Utou eventually bit down on Sumi’s neck, even though it won’t do much, he hoped it can protect him and became a proof of his commitment.

FIN

THAT FELT GOOD.... Okay, I’m tired now....The obsession and wild imagination inside my brain is finally gone…. Now I can wait for the REAL chapter from sensei... that would be coming in some months ;.;

Although I have another scenario where that nice director from chapter 5 got involved. He would bit on Sumi when Sumi actually realized his feeling for Utou. It’ll be like Junjou Romantica.

Anyway, this is my take / prediction / fantasy. Hope you enjoyed it if you are reading it until this here.

Cheers.

[dragonbagel]

Bonded - Part 2

what would happen if your beanpole bf was forced to bond with someone else? aka A/B/O rhack with 2 nerds feeling emotions.

read part 1 here  - (thank you all for the positive feedback!)

When Rhys awoke the next morning in his own bed, surrounded by his own scent and his own blankets and his own shitty company-issued posters lining the walls, he felt at peace. At least, as at peace as he could be in the given situation. He’d passed out practically as soon as he’d walked through the door, barely managing to send Jack a goodnight text before falling asleep. He hadn’t even taken his cybernetic arm off in his exhaustion, and his right shoulder felt incredibly sore.

He sighed, stretching his arms above his head with a groan and then moving to grab his phone from where it was charging next on his nightstand. Once he’d turned his alarm off, he noticed a few texts from Jack, two from last night and one from this morning. He quickly read them over before shooting him a reply.

Hey handsome. Sorry I passed out on you last night.

He’d finally worked up the willpower to drag himself out from underneath the covers when his phone dinged with a message from Jack.

You’re like an old lady with how early you go to sleep.

Rhys snorted, in the process of planning out a retort when he received another text.

I’m glad you’re okay.

Rhys smiled, warmth flooding his body as he quickly typed a response.

<3 you’d get fired for your horrible fashion sense if I wasn’t

He knew Jack was furiously working out a response about how of course a ratty sweater was acceptable work attire and how dare Rhys try to tell him that an obnoxious Hyperion yellow suit wasn’t the epitome of style.

Gotta go get ready, this hair doesn’t style itself. See you soon.

With that, he untangled himself from the blankets and padded into the bathroom he shared with his roommate Vaughn. The tiled floor was cold beneath his bare feet, and he shivered as he quickly brushed his teeth, thinking about the warm shower waiting for him the entire time. After spitting out his excess toothpaste and gargling some mouthwash, he shot himself a grin in the mirror, his teeth shiny and thankfully distracting from the dark bags under his eyes.

He sighed, detaching his cybernetic arm before stripping off his boxers and rumpled t-shirt, glad that he’d at least remembered to take off his dress pants so that they weren’t completely rumpled. Then, with a grimace, he slowly peeled the gauze from the back of his neck, his skin stinging. The wound still looked nasty, red and scabbing over, but at least it wasn’t infected. He made a mental note to thank Jack for that.

When he finally stepped into the shower, the hot water felt heavenly, wiping away the sweat and blood speckles that Jack had missed. It also relieved some of his anxiety, although he still felt on edge. How had he let that happen yesterday? He’d been so careful, he always was. He made sure to wash his clothes with ridiculous amounts of detergent the night before he wore them, and went through at least one bottle of cologne a week. He ate a seemingly endless amount of oranges in an attempt to excuse the telltale citrus scent of omegas, and before his heat, during which his scent grew incredibly strong, he made Vaughn wear his clothes beforehand to cover them in a beta smell. His friend never failed to complain, rambling on about how it was humanly impossible for Rhys to be so tall and that he didn’t know they made shirts tailored to fit beanstalks.

Vaughn was the first person he’d trusted with the knowledge that he was an omega, and aside from Jack, a few super judgmental exes whom he preferred not to think about, and his close friend Yvette, he was the only one whom Rhys felt comfortable telling omega-related things to. Rhys had told Vaughn about his endotype before they’d moved in together, because they were best friends and honestly, Rhys’ single-occupancy apartment was way too expensive. Vaughn hadn’t minded though, and if anything was very supportive. Even when Rhys was in heat, which the beta personally refused to help out with because “that would be super gay bro” and “sex toys existed for a reason,” he made sure that Rhys remained fed and hydrated while also fending off would-be visitors. The only time he’d failed to do so was when Yvette had shown up unannounced and spotted Rhys mid-heat, something she claimed still traumatized her.

Rhys smirked at the memory, although his recollection of it was fuzzy due to how heat-scrambled his brain had been at the time. Those weeks of incapacitation still embarrassed him, although with Jack’s help they at least became a bit more enjoyable. Having an alpha to take care of him was much better than having to suffer through it alone, and Vaughn had no shortage of thank-yous for not having to hear Rhys’ moaning for days on end. Jack had laughed at that, and Rhys swore he’d never blushed so hard in his life.

Vaughn wasn’t around as much anymore, having gotten fairly serious with a beta he was dating. Rhys was pretty sure that Vaughn spent more nights at her house than at their shared apartment, but he wasn’t going to complain; while he’d like to have more time to spend with his bro, he also liked being able to take his time getting ready in the morning without Vaughn fighting him for the bathroom.

He always felt better after thoroughly going through his morning beauty routine, because honestly it was inexcusable to act like he was better than everyone if he didn’t look the part as well. After massaging his mail-order shampoo and conditioner into his hair, he vigorously scrubbed his skin until all traces of sweat and blood were wiped away. He paid special attention to his bonding site, trying to get rid of the citrusy scent it emitted. If what Jack had said last night was correct, his smell was even stronger than usual. Combined with the starkly visible bite marring the back of his neck, the whole situation was just waiting to blow up in his face.

Once he felt sufficiently clean, he pulled on a pair of dark pants and a black button-down that he knew made him look pretty badass. Not being a complete higher-up did have its advantages in that he didn’t have to show up dressed to the nines every day, plus it gave him the chance to wash his clothes more regularly. His shirt collar was flipped up to hide his bonding site, and although Jack said it made him look like Dracula, there wasn’t much he could do about it. He looped a thick red tie around his neck and sprayed a few pumps of cologne on himself to complete the ensemble, flashing finger guns at himself in the mirror. Damn he looked good.

One cup of coffee later and he was on his way to the office, his slag-skin shoes reverberating against the metal floor in an all-too-satisfying way. Things felt pretty normal, and for that Rhys was thankful. Yesterday had been absolutely hellish, so an opportunity to simply go about his daily routines was like a vacation. A work-filled, paperwork-loaded vacation.

“Rhys, you have a meeting with Atlas in five minutes,” a female voice chirped later while Rhys was furiously typing at his desk.

“Thanks, Janey,” he replied, digging out the necessary files from his drawer. He had a sinking suspicion that he wasn’t quite caffeinated enough to manage whatever boredom Atlas’ marketing team had prepared for him this morning. Sighing, he grabbed an orange from the bowl he kept on his desk and headed towards the conference room, already seeing that the oval table was practically full. He knew that Atlas wanted to collaborate with Hyperion on some new weapons, but this was the very definition of overkill.

“Mr. Montgomery!” exclaimed a bald man seated at the end of the table, standing to greet Rhys and shake his hand. The omega responded in kind, covertly scanning the other man with his ECHOeye as he told him to “please, just call me Rhys.”

The man’s file revealed the typical corporate crap, like his five-page resume and hefty six-figure salary. He was also (unsurprisingly) an alpha, and although the majority of Rhys’ business meetings were conducted with those of the so-called “dominant” endotype, it made him more uneasy on that day than usual. His attention was soon drawn, however, to the man’s home planet: Pandora. He was surprised that the Atlas representative was comfortable sharing that information, even more so that he’d been able to secure such a high-up position with the negative connotation that Pandora tended to bring with it.

“Mr. Montgom-- Rhys,” the man said, correcting himself with a smile. “I’m Baron Flynt, although I’m sure your ECHOeye told you that.”

Rhys flushed slightly, but the Baron didn’t seem upset. “I’m also sure you know why we’re here this morning.”

“You want in on the new line of SMGs we’re producing,” Rhys replied with his trademark smirk.

“Precisely,” Flynt said, pulling a stack of blueprints from his briefcase and setting them on the table. “Torgue has been kicking both of our asses in the market of SMGs, if you’ll excuse my language.”

Rhys simply chuckled, signaling for him to continue.

“As you can see from our designs, the addition of our newly-developed elemental artifact can give an edge to Hyperion’s plan,” he said, gesturing to the stack of papers.

Rhys slid the pile towards him, slowly flipping through the first few pages of blueprints.

“Impressive,” he said. “I’d like to look this over further, but I think Hyperion will definitely be interested.”

Flynt gave a slight bow. “Thank you, sir. We’ve drawn up a possible contract, were out partnership to come to fruition.”

Rhys felt eyes shifting in his direction as a blonde-haired Atlas businesswoman carried a thick manilla folder toward Rhys. Maybe they were just looking at him because he was the sexy face representing the company whose feet they were practically groveling at. Or maybe it was because they could smell him, could tell that he didn’t belong. He quickly grabbed the orange he’d brought with him to the meeting for this exact purpose and peeled it, neatly placing the rinds on a napkin. The strong, citrus scent soon permeated the room, and some tension left his shoulders.

He thanked the woman as she handed him the folders, wiping his flesh hand on the napkin as to not get juice on the paperwork. The matrix of fine print attacking his eyes caused him to close the file moments after opening it, not wanting to trigger yet another work-induced migraine. He was about to assure the Baron that he’d make sure to give the contract to Hyperion’s lawyers if the company decided to collaborate when he felt his phone buzz at his hip.

Still on for our lunch date?

Rhys smiled as the text flashed across the retina of his ECHOeye, the heartwarming fact that it was from Jack overpowering his embarrassment at the blatant unprofessionalism.

“Well, Mr. Flynt, it has been a pleasure meeting with you and your team this morning,” Rhys said, popping another slice of orange into his mouth. “You’ll receive our response to your proposal by the end of the week.”

The Baron nodded in thanks, gesturing for his co-workers to pack up and exit the room. Rhys gave them each a smile as they passed, assuring them that their offer was going to be seriously considered. One of them must have bumped into him as they walked, because his attention was drawn from covertly sending Jack a response to a stinging in his left shoulder. However, he wasn’t able to make eye contact with the poor sap who’d knocked into to him, who was no doubt completely embarrassed and about to beg for Rhys’ forgiveness, because of an odd rush of emotions that suddenly overtook him.

His skin felt tingly, light and fluttery and sparkly, if that was even possible. He furrowed his brows, because his body felt hot, too hot, yet a cold chill settled over him at the same time. Was he sick? No, he couldn’t be, no way; besides, being ill wasn’t typically a pleasant experience, and despite the temperature fluctuations he was experiencing and the ringing in his ears, something deep inside him felt content.

“Mr. Montgomery?”

Rhys looked up at the sound of his name, snapped out of his trance by Flynt’s concerned voice.

“Are you alright, sir?”

Rhys nodded, regaining his senses as the strange feelings previously enveloping him subsided. His pulse quickened at the sight of the Baron’s nostrils flaring, and he shoved another slice of orange into his mouth to remind the alpha that the citrus scent was most definitely not coming from Rhys’ body, not at all.

“I apologize, I haven’t eaten much this morning,” Rhys said, hoping to let the excuse blanket both his orange-snacking and momentarily zoning out.

“It’s no problem, sir,” Flynt said, his voice still more filled with worry than suspicion. “Please, go get something to eat. I will be back at the end of the week to revisit our proposition.”

“Thanks,” Rhys said, smiling and eating the last piece of the orange. “I look forward to working with you.”

Flynt gave him a salute before turning and exiting the room, leaving Rhys alone to gather the materials they’d provided to him. He realized he hadn’t actually responded to Jack’s message earlier, so he quickly sent him a response, telling him that he’d be at their favorite cafe in the Hub in ten minutes.

“Janey, can you send these over to Hyperion’s legal team for me?” Rhys asked once he’d made it back to his office, files in hand.

“Sure,” Janey said, happily taking the papers.

Rhys nodded his appreciation before placing the packet of prototype designs onto his desk. He’d look at them more thoroughly after getting some much-needed food in his body.

I’ve got our table in the corner.

Rhys smiled at the text from Jack, which came with an accompanying selfie of the man himself seated in front of a flower-surrounded bay window. He wore a grin on his face that he knew charmed the pants off of Rhys, and Rhys would be lying if he said it wasn’t doing all sorts of things to his body.

He grabbed his wallet and jacket before heading out and locking the door behind him.

I’ll be right there, handsome.