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The hustle and bustle of the market was just as lively as usual. For anyone from Sumeru, it was a familiar sight, comforting; the scent of spices wafted up in the air and reminded everyone of the riches of the soil they called home.
Kaveh was perhaps the exception, this one time. It made him nervous instead of calm, and he could only hope this trip would be worth it.
Dori’s stall, in spite of her grand reputation, was a small, nondescript thing that blended into the market. Kaveh weaved through the throng of people with ease, having gone there multiple times, knowing the way like the back of his hand. When he reached the stall Dori herself was there, looking at him through her tinted glasses with a sly smile on her lips.
“Well, if it isn’t my favorite customer!” she greeted cheerfully. “What can I get you today, Master Kaveh? A book? A rare wood from abroad? Delicacies people will be willing to die for?”
Kaveh tried to speak, felt his voice locked, and cleared his throat. “Not quite,” he said. “Can we speak in private?”
Dori lifted a brow. “Sure. This way, then.”
Once alone, Kaveh told her everything, and her brows climbed up higher and higher with each word leaving his lips. By the time he was done, her brows had come down, furrowed this time.
“I could get you the medicine, but it’s going to cost you,” she said with a frankness that was uncharacteristic of her. “Sourcing it is going to be difficult, but doable. How soon do you need it to be ready?”
“In about three months, more or less,” Kaveh answered. If all went according to plan, then that would be the perfect time. Perhaps that was what made him the most nervous. Kaveh knew he was smart, but luck was rarely on his side, and this plan needed luck.
Not everyone can easily turn their designation so easily, after all.
“Three months sounds reasonable,” Dori said. “Mind you, I can’t tell you the exact price yet. That particular medicine kind of skirts around the illegal side of the law. You understand.”
“I do. Don’t worry, I’m not going to use it to anyone but myself.”
Dori turned pensive at that. “Huh. You love your mate that much, huh? I bet they’re ecstatic.”
Kaveh swallowed the lump in his throat and grinned.
“Hm. Well, I’ll see what I can do, and I’ll send a runner to you once I have the item ready. You’d better start saving up, Master Kaveh. I meant it when I said it’s going to cost you.”
Kaveh knew. He understood.
He only hoped that Alhaitham would, too.
Coupling as a pair of Alphas could be difficult. It was a constant battle in bed, trying to get on top of each other, snarling and baring teeth even though all they wanted was to kiss. Being mounted hurt, and even managing to mount the other at all only felt like a fleeting victory, gone the moment their rut-addled brain regained faculty, only to be replaced by guilt when they realized they had hurt each other.
But neither Kaveh nor Alhaitham could deny their honest attraction to each other. When they could ignore their instincts to try to be the dominant Alpha, it was easy to slot their hands together, to press lips against each other, to bask in each other’s scents and find home in the warmth of their presence. There was no reason not to pursue their relationship. Alpha-Alpha pair was a tad unconventional, but aside from the slight problem in bed, it was very much a liveable, cherished coexistence.
Despite all that, Kaveh couldn’t help but wonder how much easier it would be if one of them was an Omega. They were already a good couple. It would make them a perfect one.
And Kaveh, as someone who spent his life losing his cherished things in life only to build and rebuild it again and again until it was his and safe and flawless, knew perfection didn’t come as it was. Perfection was made, molded and created, and there was no reason for him not to take his relationship with Alhaitham, turn it around in his hands and pick it apart, and rebuild it again from the ground up until it was perfect.
It would even be an easy renovation. He didn’t need to break everything down to the bare bricks. He simply needed to take the piece that was himself and changed it until it was a perfect slot with Alhaitham’s piece.
Alhaitham’s last rut was the last straw, what solidified his decision. Kaveh liked sticking his dick into Alhaitham’s ass, sure, but Alhaitham seemed to find it uncomfortable to receive even without the heightened instincts that came with a rut. Kaveh didn’t care as much. And so, wasn’t it just logical to go ahead and make sure he was the most compatible partner Alhaitham could have, with a hole ready to receive whatever Alhaitham was giving him?
But Alhaitham didn’t know yet. A part of him wanted this to be a surprise. Another was terrified of how he would react.
Nevertheless, his decision was made. It was easy to ease his fingers and different kinds of toys into his hole and acclimating himself to receive instead of giving. Drinking medicinal teas to alter his hormones was easy. Hiding it all was easy, with how predictable Alhaitham’s schedule was and how chaotic Kaveh’s was. Especially when Kaveh currently had no client to worry about, and so he could focus on trying to coax the Alpha musk to slowly soften into an Omega’s sweet scent.
He knew his efforts were slowly bearing fruit when Alhaitham came home a month after he started the endeavor, paused by Kaveh’s side, and frowned. “Your scent is different,” Alhaitham said, brows knitted closely. His head dipped closer to Kaveh’s neck where his scent gland lay. “Did you do something? This doesn’t smell like perfume.”
Kaveh shrugged and hoped his nervousness didn’t show. “It could be the fruits. I’ve been eating a lot lately.” Partly because the recommended diet to change his secondary gender from Alpha to Omega called for food with a lot of vitamins, since his body would work extra to actually make the change happen. Kaveh could only be grateful he genuinely liked fruits. He wrung his hands together. “Is… it bad?”
Alhaitham paused for a moment. “No. Just different.” He stepped back and lifted a bag. “Here. Dinner. Biryani.”
“Oh come on, I asked for kulfi.”
“That’s dessert. You’re not eating kulfi before an actual meal.”
“Fair enough,” Kaveh sighed. The change in hormones was wrecking his appetite and making him crave sweets, but it was a small price to pay. “Could you grab the plates, then?”
Dinner that day commenced the same as usual despite how Alhaitham noticed the change in scent, as did the dinner next day, and the next, and the next. Slowly, his body changed, so subtly that he wouldn’t have realized if it wasn’t for the fact that he was tracking everything closely. After all, slow and steady change was the way to go. The medicine from Dori was only meant to trigger the first heat to truly, permanently change him, but only if Alhaitham marked him.
The weeks passed, and at long last a runner spotted Kaveh as he was buying groceries, slipping a note into his hands and flitting away without any care. Written upon it was a note in Dori’s careful script telling him the medicine was ready and that he should come pick it up soon and finish the payment.
It was right on time. If he was tracking things right, Alhaitham’s rut should come knocking any day now.
With trembling fingers, Kaveh went home to put away all the groceries and sped off again to meet Dori, unwilling to meet her with hands full of tomatoes and spices. He’d put down a down payment for the medicine and had put the remaining fees in his pocket before he went out.
Dori was already expecting him when he reached her stall. She smiled and waved him in to finish the transaction somewhere more private. Quietly, Kaveh complied. The medicine wasn’t illegal, as in small doses it could help induce heats in Omegas that had problem conceiving. In stronger doses, it could trigger a switch in Alphas, and that was where things got sticky. Still, Kaveh wasn’t the first Alpha to ever wish to change his status, and he wouldn’t be the last.
“You’re a lucky man, Master Kaveh! I almost couldn’t find one of the key ingredients to this, but I got it.” Dori slid a pouch of white powder to him. “Here you go. Drink this three times a day for the maximum effect. Mix a teaspoon of it with a cup of warm water. It should last you three days, and if my calculations are correct, that would be about the time you’ll get your heat.”
“I didn’t know you made this yourself,” Kaveh noted in surprise.
“Well, I am a healer as well as a merchant. A girl of many talents, if you will.” She held up a hand at Kaveh, clearly asking for the Mora.
Kaveh plopped the Mora pouch on her hand and took the powder. He sniffed softly. It smelled floral, almost cloyingly so.
“Anyway, you should arrange for your mate to be around when you drink that because your efforts would have been for nothing if you don’t get marked,” Dori pointed out nonchalantly. When Kaveh stiffened at her words, she turned to him suspiciously. “Your partner knows about this, right?”
Curse his honest tongue. It tangled upon itself and refused to speak. What came out was an extremely hesitant, “Uhhh.”
Dori stared at him in disapproval. “Master Kaveh…”
“It’s… a surprise?”
The look Dori gave him was flat and unimpressed. “Look, I’ve sold this to a lot of customers already. I may not currently have a partner but even I know this is the sort of thing anyone should talk to their partner about.”
“Oh, come now. Surely Alphas wouldn’t say no to an Omega.”
“I’m a Beta, I wouldn’t know.” Dori sighed. “Look, Master Kaveh, you’re my favorite customer…”
“You said that to Layla the other day.”
“I have more than one. Here, tell you what.” She rummaged underneath her seat and pulled out a bottle of wine. It hadn’t been aged long, and Kaveh knew it wasn’t the best, but it was decent. Dori put in on the table between them and pushed it to Kaveh. “Here, on the house, just for my most favorite customer. Take it as congratulatory gift if you succeed and… well, you know what the opposite of succeeding is.”
Kaveh frowned. “Well now it feels like a bad omen to take it.”
Dori took his hands and placed the bottle in his hold. “Then it’s congratulatory gift. Do think of me if you ever have offspring of your own and remember to buy baby clothes from me,” she said solemnly.
This honestly required way more energy than Kaveh’s frazzled nerves could handle. “I’m leaving. Thank you for your help, Lord Sangemah Bay.”
The way Dori pulled back and put on a million-Mora smile would be disturbing if Kaveh didn’t already know this was her normal. “Of course! Come again soon!”
The powder turned into a deep, clear brown that reminded Kaveh of Liyue’s teas, but the scent was different. Upon brewing, the floral smell subsided and a smoky scent came through. Kaveh took a deep breath, trying to guess what the ingredients were, but he came up with nothing.
But the taste was good. Sweet, slightly smoky, with a slight tartness that added complexity into the overall taste and a surprising hint of bitter aftertaste. The first cup went down in the morning, quickly, easily, away from Alhaitham’s perceptive eyes. The second cup, as well, as Kaveh downed it before Alhaitham reached home for lunch. The third cup, Alhaitham noticed.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drink that,” Alhaitham noted, carefully sniffing the air to take in the scent of the drink. “What is it?”
“Something I found in the market,” Kaveh lied, having prepared the excuse ahead of time. “It just seemed interesting so I decided to try… hey, what are you doing?” He held the cup higher when Alhaitham reached out. “Get your own, this is mine.”
Thankfully, Alhaitham relented. Instead, he hummed as he lifted his own teacup and sipped. “Your scent is still sweet. Sweeter, in fact.”
“Really? I haven’t really noticed,” Kaveh said. His hand ghosted over his scent gland. It was always hard to smell yourself, but he hadn’t expected the change to be so obvious. He finished the medicine and put he cup down.
Alhaitham held him gently by the elbow, staring straight into his eyes. Kaveh stopped in his tracks and gazed back. “What is it?” he asked after a moment of uncomfortable staring.
“I can’t tell what’s wrong,” Alhaitham said, sounding troubled and not liking it. “Talk to me. Why are you distancing yourself?”
“I’m… not distancing myself,” Kaveh argued.
“You are. You barely talk to me these days.”
Yes, well, he didn’t want Alhaitham to find out too soon and ruin the surprise. “It’s probably just hormones,” he said weakly.
Alhaitham frowned at that. “How is it hormones? Your rut isn’t for any time soon.”
Kaveh shrugged. “Stress maybe.”
“Then maybe you should visit Bimarstan. Talk to a professional.”
Sighing, Kaveh put his cup down to take Alhaitham’s hand. His thumb traced over the calluses over Alhaitham’s fingers. He only wanted the best for them, for Alhaitham, but it seemed he had unknowingly caused distress. “I promise I’m fine,” he said. “I’ll see a doctor if things ever go wrong. Okay?”
Alhaitham’s sharp gaze searched into his eyes. For a moment, they stayed like that, holding each other’s hands and staring deep into each other’s eyes. Then, Alhaitham closed his eyes and sighed. “Alright.” Slowly, with his warmth lingering in Kaveh’s palms, he pulled his hand back. “Dinner first, now.”
Just as scheduled, Kaveh felt creeping heat in his gut on the third day.
It was right on time. Alhaitham’s scent had deepened, as well, and Kaveh knew if the rut didn’t come today then Alhaitham must already be in pre-rut. Kaveh going into heat would likely push him right into rut.
Kaveh finished the last of his medicine and closed his eyes. He could already feel the need to gather any soft fabric into his and Alhaitham’s shared bed to create a nest. With a sigh, he decided to let the budding instincts take over and surrendered himself to its whims.
His feet brought him to the bedroom, and he was soon rummaging through the linen closet for the softest blankets and sheets. Once deposited on the bed, he searched for more; cloaks, shirts, pants. Alhaitham’s sleep shirt joined the pile and was immediately put reverently in the middle. Kaveh considered combing through the dirty laundry to find more items, but he wasn’t so far gone in his budding instincts to truly entertain the idea. He may end up soiling all these items later, but he wasn’t keen on bringing in stinky, sweaty shirts…
On second thought, the sweaty shirts probably smelled more like Alhaitham. Kaveh bolted for the hampers.
After a while, nest arranged, Kaveh climbed in and curled himself around the items that smelled most like Alhaitham. He was always warm, woody, rich with petrichor. Alhaitham’s warm oud, rounded by the cool sharpness of mint that cut through the scent before it grew overwhelming, had always brought comfort to Kaveh.
Slowly, his hands roamed. The heat grew stronger and stronger, and he soon scrambled to take off his clothes. His fingers teased the rim. There was some slick, but not nearly enough. With a groan, he reached to his nightstand to grab a bottle of oil. It was cool against his too-warm skin, and soon he allowed his fingers to sink inside him.
A sigh. It wasn’t nearly enough, but it banked the flames of lust that started to fog his thoughts. He let his slick fingers carefully pump in and out as his free hand roamed up to pinch his nipple. He only needed to wait for Alhaitham now. If he wasn’t in rut, surely Kaveh’s heat would trigger it.
It didn’t take long for the front door to click open, and Kaveh listened with bated breath. It sounded like Alhaitham was frozen at the steps. He hadn’t closed the door.
When the door finally closed, it was with a slam. Hurried footsteps thundered through the halls and the bedroom door swung open.
Alhaitham stood there, staring, mouth agape and eyes wide, pupils so dilated his eyes looked black. Kaveh blinked at smiled at him, still languidly pushing his fingers into himself as deeply as he could. “Hello, Haitham,” he said, breathy.
“Kaveh,” Alhaitham murmured. He stepped inside hesitantly, then stopped. His scent wafted in. The oud was heavier, stronger with his upcoming rut, the mint sharper with his budding lust. He shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
“I changed,” Kaveh said. “For you.”
Alhaitham’s gaze fell to Kaveh’s hand, still playing with himself. “The change in scent,” he said, “and that drink you refused to share.”
“It’s a surprise,” Kaveh smiled nervously. “I think… we’ll be better like this. Perfect. And if it’s you, I don’t mind the change.” He swallowed. “So if you can just… come here into the nest and let me help you during your rut…”
Alhaitham didn’t budge.
Kaveh wavered. Had he been wrong? Was this a mistake? “Alhaitham?” he called quietly, his nerves bleeding into his voice.
Alhaitham groaned and stumbled inside, already pulling his clothes off and putting them at the edge of the bed. He bent, caging Kaveh between his arms, hungry lips pressing hungry kisses into Kaveh’s own. “I can never say no to you,” he sighed into Kaveh’s lips between kisses.
Laughter bubbled and spilled through Kaveh’s lips, mostly muffled by the kisses. “Clothes off. Come on. Are you in rut yet?”
“Soon,” Alhaitham panted. “Kaveh, you… you smell divine.”
“Tell me how I smell,” Kaveh said. Alhaitham still had his pants on, but that would be an easy problem to deal with.
Alhaitham’s nose pushed into Kaveh’s scent gland, pulling out a gasp. With reverentlips, Alhaitham kissed it. “Sweet,” he said. “Woody. Padisarah and wood.”
A chuckle pushed out of his lips. “Athel? It’s not that much different, then.”
“It’s different.” Alhaitham kissed his hand and Kaveh shivered, already anticipating the bite even though Alhaitham hadn’t even taken his pants off. “But it’s still you.”
Alhaitham pulled back and took off his pants before Kaveh could protest. His cock was already erect, bobbing against his stomach when it was finally freed. Kaveh swallowed and watched as Alhaitham slicked his cock with oil, glistening fingers dancing along his length while his sharp eyes zeroed in on Kaveh’s spread hole.
Slowly, patiently, Alhaitham pulled Kaveh’s fingers away. He hushed the protesting whines gently and put his cock in, replacing the fingers, and Kaveh gasped as he marveled at how well Alhaitham filled him.
Gone was the Alpha instincts refusing to be mounted, gone was the fight he would wield at the thought of submitting to another. Perhaps it was the natural Omegan response to being fucked or perhaps it’s because it was Alhaitham who fucked him, but at this moment, it finally felt like there was only Kaveh and Alhaitham finally joined in carnal pleasure. Kaveh reached out, soiled hand and all, to pull Alhaitham in for a kiss.
Alhaitham snapped his hip as they pressed their lips together, and Kaveh moaned in surprise. The Alpha immediately took his opportunity to slip his tongue in as he slowly, methodically pulled back and thrusted back in.
“Will you get pregnant from this?” Alhaitham asked. His scent had deepened yet again, the oud gentle yet prominent. Had his rut started, mid-fuck? It must have.
“I’ve only just turned,” Kaveh said. He threw his head back and panted when Alhaitham’s cock dragged over his prostate. “We… can’t know, yet.”
“Hm. Bimarstan later this week then,” Alhaitham said, infuriatingly, as if they were talking in the middle of dinner instead of while he was nailing Kaveh’s prostate with his dick.
The worst part was Kaveh didn’t even have the mental capacity to be mad about it, the pleasure overwhelming his thoughts. He didn’t remember sex feeling this good before, with his instincts warring with the pleasure. Maybe he should have started looking into turning earlier.
The pleasure mounted. Kaveh yelped when Alhaitham dipped in to nibble around his gland, teasing, never biting. Kaveh got his revenge when he did the same and took his victories smugly when Alhaitham’s rhythm stuttered every time he kissed his glands. Gently, Kaveh pulled Alhaitham in for another kiss, but his efforts was thwarted when Alhaitham chose instead to tease his nipple, fingers flicking and pinching. He yelped instead and knew he lost, then. Alhaitham was aways better at retaining his faculties during sex, which was honestly objectively unfair.
“I’m… ah… getting close,” Kaveh panted.
“Good,” Alhaitham answered, caressing his cheek. “I am, too.”
It didn’t take long, after that, for them to reach their climax. A particularly delicious drag over his prostate and another nibble around his gland sent Kaveh shattering, coming apart with a choked cry as his orgasm hit. Alhaitham, too, came with a grunt, body tensing. Warmth flooded Kaveh’s insides and he moaned loudly at that.
Slowly, the world pulled itself back together. Kaveh blinked and finally realized he had cum all over himself, splattering over his stomach and chest.
Alhaitham, too, had recovered. His dick had softened after the orgasm, but Kaveh could feel the telltale sign of a knot making itself known. Alhaitham’s rut must have started but had not gone full swing, then. He breathed and tried to keep his composure when Alhaitham slowly pulled himself out, taking one of the towels Kaveh had dumped into the nest and started cleaning up. Somehow, his gentle hands carefully cleaning his spend out of Kaveh’s hole only made Kaveh’s heart flutter and for flames deep in his gut to burn hotter.
The gentle movements at his nether region stopped. “Kaveh,” Alhaitham said, voice strangely tense, “you’re slicking.”
Kaveh closed his eyes and sighed. “Ah, yes, I was expecting that to happen sooner or later. I guess my heat and your rut together finally kickstarted it… ah!” He yelped when Alhaitham promptly tossed the towel aside and prodded his opening with his fingers. “Alhaitham, what… mmm!”
“You’re slicking for me,” Alhaitham said, voice low, fingers scissoring Kaveh open again. “Kaveh, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop during this rut cycle.”
His fingers felt unfairly good in him. Kaveh closed his eyes and sighed. “Well… I can’t ever say no to you either,” he admitted.
Alhaitham pulled his fingers out and impatiently jammed his cock back in. It should have been painful, but the slick, the fingering, and the previous fucking had loosened Kaveh enough that it was nothing more than a slight discomfort. He frowned, and Alhaitham kissed his temple, murmuring stuttered apologies over his ear as he impatiently started pistoning again. This time, Kaveh knew the knot would form.
“Bite me this time,” Kaveh said. “Bite me as I cum for you.”
“Only if you bite me as well,” Alhaitham replied.
“Of course.”
This time, Alhaitham was faster, rougher; the snaps of his hips sharper. But his hands remained gentle, thumbs caressing Kaveh’s cheeks as he devoured Kaveh’s willing lips, kissing fervently as if he had been lost in the desert and Kaveh was his oasis. Then, as the knot grew, his hands roamed lower to grip around Kaveh’s frame, and Kaveh knew the pads of his fingers would leave bruises upon his skin, just as Kaveh’s scratches on Alhaitham’s back would.
Alhaitham sucked a mark over Kaveh’s jawline. The knot finally formed but it hadn’t locked in. Instead it slipped and out over Kaveh’s rim, highlighting the experience with a slight burn that had Kaveh keening.
“Cl-close again,” Kaveh gasped. “Alhaitham. Alhaitham, please.”
“Bite?”
“Bite.”
Kaveh watched as Alhaitham licked his lips and opened his mouth. The shine of candlelight glinted off his hungry eyes. He dove, found Kaveh’s glands, and bit.
The world burst again with pain and pleasure that mixed so thoroughly Kaveh couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. He could feel the bond with his mate snapping into place, and he keened again, knowing he had cum and maybe Alhaitham had cum as well but he was too cock-drunk and high on the newly made mark to care or even realize.
Almost in a trance, Kaveh let his instincts take over. As soon as Alhaitham let go and began to lick the wound clean, he gently canted Alhaitham’s head aside to get to his gland at bit.
The taste burst in his mouth as Alhaitham’s cock twitched inside him, spurting again, locked in place by the knot. He tasted like iron and sharp mint, earthy, and yet warm like a brief, sudden summer rain. Kaveh purred as he let go and began licking the blood clean. They would have to clean the wounds properly after they disengaged.
The noise that came out of Kaveh’s lips was halway a chirp. “Mate?”
Alhaitham rumbled deeply. “Mate,” he agreed, settling to lay by Kaveh’s side and wrapping his arms around the Omega’s frame. Kaveh happily snuggled into the warmth.
As he slowly came down from the high, Kaveh chuckled against Alhaitham’s pecs. “We’ll have a lot to explain to Cyno and Tighnari. And everyone else.” He paused. “Also, Dori gave us a congratulatory wine we can drink later.”
“You’ll have to do the bulk of the talking, as I didn’t even know you were trying to change yourself into an Omega,” Alhaitham mumbled into Kaveh’s hair, apparently deciding to sidestep the wine completely.
“Rude. You’re leaving me to explain everything myself?”
“Of course not. You can be sure I’ll be there to support you.” He planted a kiss upon Kaveh’s crown. “Now rest, Love. We’ll have to eat and drink water after this, because I’m contemplating eating you out and I don’t want your slick to be the only thing I consume tonight.”
This time, Kaveh giggled. There was no reason not to comply, especially when the thought of having Alhaitham between his legs stirred his cock to life again.
Perfection was made, molded and created, and Kaveh had managed to make their relationship perfect.