Chapter Text
An Omega’s heat is not how they paint it, If they even paint it at all. There's some conservative taboos around that keep people from talking openly about this completely natural thing and it is so annoying to have the opposite subgenre be so willfully uninformed.
Yes, it makes him extra horny but not to the point of dry humping his alpha friends without control.
Yes, he takes suppressors, but those don't do much for the symptoms, they just suppress the pheromones he releases so as to not inconvenience the alphas around him. Underneath, he's still dealing with his own discomfort and that right there is the gender medical bias the progressives keep complaining about.
No, his panties aren't wet all the time, you'd have to turn him on to get his slick going. Simply being in heat does not turn an Omega into the waterfall everyone thinks it does.
And on that note: it's milky white, not clear. Anyone who thinks there's a bodily fluid that's completely clear has been watching too much porn.
Infertility outside of heat is lower but never zero. The myth that you can have unprotected sex when not in heat is actually so freaking harmful and prevalent, he’s had to kick people out of his house mid foreplay for insisting they don't need a condom.
Three days, every three months, unless an alpha knots you. They got that part right, they definitely love that part. The amount of times random men on the street have yelled “hey, want me to break that heat up for you?” at him. Ugh.
No, he doesn't need their tiny stupid knot. He's fine. He's horny, warm, his underwear isn't soaked through but his shirt is from all the sweat. He's irritable and a little hungry but not enough to start a war for nothing like people keep saying an Omega president would.
Mind you, every war ever fought has been started by an alpha on a regular Thursday. So who's the hormonal emotional mess now, huh?
If you couldn't tell, Donghyuck has a bit of disdain in his heart for alphas, and that disdain only grows during his heat because, what do you mean he deals with this quarterly while an alpha’s rut is a once a year thing?
Evolution has its own gender bias and it shows.
So, in response to the unfairness Donghyuck likes Betas and finds Deltas really hot too. Alphas can go suck each other’s dicks for all he cares.
Right then, as though trying to prove him right, in walks an Alpha. He smells him before he even hears the chime of the bell above the door of the Cafe.
Tall, black hair, broad shoulders. Strong arms visible even under the suit jacket, square jaw, pretty upturned lips, and a big nose. Swipe that thing like a credit card type of big. But as handsome as he is, Donghyuck wouldn't have even looked at him if it weren't for the smell.
Something woodsy, with notes of pepper spice and lemon grass.
It isn't just that he smells good—it’s that he smells heavy. Suffocating. It hits Donghyuck right in the back of the throat, pooling instantly low and hot in his belly. It’s the kind of thick, unmasked pheromone cloud you usually only get from an Omega in heat, which means…
“Oh for life, you're in rut,” the words slip past Donghyuck’s lips before his brain can even process that he's looking at a paying customer.
The Alpha pauses, hand still hovering near the door handle. “Excuse me?”
Donghyuck’s face instantly burns. He grips the edge of the counter, dropping his head. “I’m sorry. That was—please ignore me, that was so rude to point out. It's just that the smell literally just punched me in the face.”
The man's eyebrows shoot up, but instead of looking offended, a slow, amused curiosity settles over his features. He reaches up, long fingers brushing against the side of his neck. “Oh? But I'm wearing a patch.”
“Well, it's not doing much,” Donghyuck blurts out, then clamps his jaw shut. Oh for life, stop talking. He forces a breathless, defensive laugh. “I’m—this is so inappropriate to say to a stranger, I'm so sorry, but I'm in heat. So I'm extra sensitive right now.”
A sudden shift goes through the Alpha's shoulders. His eyes darken, dropping down to trace the line of Donghyuck’s throat before locking back onto his face. “Ah. Sorry to hear that.”
Donghyuck blinks, momentarily dazed by the sheer weight of the man's attention. “You… you can't smell it?”
“I smell something,” the Alpha murmurs, his voice dropping an octave as he takes a slow step toward the register. “But I didn't want to assume.”
Donghyuck swallows hard, his fingers trembling slightly as he hovers them over the touch screen. “Right. Dynamic etiquette. Good. Let's stick to that. Again, so sorry for bringing it up. What… what can I get started for you today, sir?”
The stranger blinks, a slow, amused smirk tugging at those pretty, upturned lips. He adjusts the lapel of his suit jacket, shifting just enough for the fabric to strain against his shoulders.
"Don't worry about it," the Alpha says, his voice a low, gravelly baritone that vibrates right through the soles of Donghyuck's shoes. "And 'sir' is a bit formal. I'm Jeno."
Donghyuck swallows hard, his eyes darting briefly to the scent patch on Jeno's neck, which is clearly doing absolutely nothing to contain the heavy, spicy musk of a looming rut. Shit, this is why he doesn't like alphas—this and 99 other reasons, but especially this. Being biologically forced to like someone feels so oppressive and he knows it goes both ways. He knows right now the man is probably feeling a very similar pull due to Donghyuck's heat but he has done that dance enough times to know that once his heat breaks and the brain turns back on, it's a ghost town all of a sudden.
So no, fuck alphas and fuck Jeno in particular for walking in here like a bio weapon when he's at his most vulnerable. Going on a first name basis is a clear invitation to flirt that he will not be taking.
“Right, so, what would you like to order, sir?”
Jeno lets out a low rumble of a laugh, leaning against the counter. The movement brings him just an inch closer, and Donghyuck has to grip the edge of the espresso machine to keep his knees locked.
“An iced coffe. Four shots,” Jeno says, his dark eyes locking onto Donghyuck's. “And a scent patch recommendation, if you have it. I don't want to spend the rest of the day making every Omega as uncomfortable as I'm clearly making you.”
“I'm not—uncomfortable isn't the word,” Donghyuck squeaks out, before his customer-service training kicks back in to save him. He clears his throat. “But, uh, if it's just a regular daily patch, that’s why it’s doing absolutely nothing. You should probably grab a proper rut suppression patch from a pharmacy.”
Jeno tilts his head, a look of mild amusement crossing his face. “It is a proper rut suppression patch.”
Donghyuck pauses, his eyes dropping briefly back down to the patch before snapping up to his face. Oh. If that's him suppressed, then…
“Oh,” Donghyuck breathes out, his face flushing a fresh, deep crimson. He fiddles with a sleeve of coffee cups just to keep his hands busy. “Then… then it's definitely just me. It's my heat making your pheromones hit so hard. You’re already doing everything you can. I’m sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound like you were being negligent or anything.”
Jeno lets out a low, soft huff of a laugh, leaning an inch closer over the counter. The movement sends a fresh wave of that heavy, intoxicating musk straight into Donghyuck's space.
“Hey,” Jeno murmurs, his tone dropping into something incredibly gentle. “Nothing to apologize for. If anything, I should be apologizing to you for walking into your shop like this.”
Oh fuck, he's nice.
He's hot, clearly has a good job—expensive watch noted—a sexy voice, the perfect scent and he cares about the comfort of the omegas around him?
Uh, Donghyuck wants to have his babies so bad.
But that's the heat talking.
And Jeno's rut is probably playing a similar tune, whispering into the alpha’s ear that Donghyuck looks and smells incredibly breedable.
He wonders if the man is actually picturing folding him over the counter and letting both of their wolves deal with the rest of this interaction.
Oh crap, now his underwear is actually wet.
“Focus bitch,” Donghyuck tells himself like a mantra—a low enough whisper that he hopes Jeno didn't hear it but chances are, judging from the snort, that he did. He's desperately tapping the screen to finalize the transaction before he accidentally blurts out something even more incriminating. He forces a bright, totally-not-losing-my-mind smile. “That’ll be four fifty, please.”
Jeno slides his card forward, and as Donghyuck reaches to take it, their fingers brush. The brief contact is like a jolt of pure static electricity. Donghyuck’s breath catches in his throat. Up close, the sheer heat radiating off Jeno is dizzying. The scent of him—deep, rich, and heavily laced with the sharp edge of an impending rut—floods Donghyuck’s senses entirely. It’s a miracle the card reader doesn’t melt right there.
Jeno doesn’t pull his hand back immediately. He lingers, his dark eyes fixed on Donghyuck’s face, watching the rapid flush spread down the column of the Omega’s neck. A heavy, possessive stillness settles over his broad shoulders.
Jeno looks down at the register, his brow furrowing slightly as he takes in Donghyuck’s flushed cheeks. “Should you really be working through your heat?”
Donghyuck lets out a dry, breathless little laugh, tapping the screen to process the payment. “The bill for mandatory heat leave didn't pass Congress.”
“I know,” Jeno says, his voice dropping into a lower, heavier register that cuts right through the hum of the cafe. “But it's still each employer’s choice.” He steps closer to the counter, his dark eyes locking onto Donghyuck’s with a sudden, intense seriousness. “If you were mine, you wouldn't leave the house for three days…”
Donghyuck’s breath hitches. His fingers tighten around the card as he offers it back to the alpha.
Jeno freezes, his jaw tightening as the words hang between them. A dark, sudden flush creeps up his neck, right past the edge of his scent patch. “…my employee, I mean,” he adds hastily, though his voice is too thick for the save to actually work.
He clears his throat, extending his hand to grab the card and repeating that fleeting contact, this time with—somehow—more electricity passing between them.
On a normal day, Donghyuck is proud of his wit. He reads people fast and situations faster. He could easily read between the lines of that slip up but that feels detrimental to his mental health.
“If you were mine, you wouldn't leave my bed for three days…”
Maybe he's projecting, but that's unlikely, because not even the strong smell of coffee surrounding them as he begins to prepare the order can mask the intensity of Jeno stirring in his pants at the mental image he just gave them both.
The counter doesn't let Donghyuck see it, but he knows it's there.
When he turns back around from the espresso machine, popping the lid onto the cup, he finds Jeno hasn't moved an inch. Instead, the Alpha is leaning against the pickup counter, his gaze heavy and intensely focused.
Oh. He just saw his butt didn't he?
He's Lowkey proud of his butt and all the squats he does to keep it round and perky but that's not enough to make Jeno's eyes flicker gold.
Oh no.
No, please don't tell me the slick soaked through my slacks. Anything but that, please, please please.
Donghyuck hands over the iced coffee, his fingers trembling just enough that the ice rattles against the plastic. “Here you go sir,” he says, trying not to sound as nervous as he feels.
Jeno takes the cup, his thumb brushing over Donghyuck’s knuckles on the handoff, and his eyes—still mostly dark brown, with the cheekiest hint of gold—now stuck to his neck like he really really wants to bite.
Donghyuck stands as close to the counter as physics allows to keep his entire bottom half out of view as he pulls one arm behind himself to feel for the traitorous wetness but surprisingly —thankfully—there’s nothing there.
Huh. Interesting.
Guess he just really likes my ass.
The Omega doesn't want to smile like a love sick fool over the silent appreciation. He does anyway.
And fuck, Jeno smiles back. He was not prepared for that good boy killer eye smile. He looks like a freaking puppy! Tall, deep voiced businessmen who drink 4 shot espressos shouldn't smile like a puppy, what the hell!?
Foul play! Foul play!
If he wasn't leaking through his pants a minute ago, he actually might be now. One of the 99 reasons he doesn't even like alphas is all their macho stoicism. They all seem to think they look hotter the less emotion they show.
Donghyuck disagrees, and seeing the man in front of him return a smile—that wasn't even voluntary on his part to begin with—with that dopey good boy grin is doing things to his heart that might be turning his own eyes a tell-tale shade of silver.
He needs a mirror. He needs a bathroom break. He needs Jeno's load shot straight into his womb yesterday.
“Have a good day, sir,” Donghyuck says, his voice a little softer now, the customer-service mask holding on for dear life.
Jeno offers a small, parting smile. “You too. Hopefully I'm the only rutting Alpha passing through here today. Apologies again for the discomfort.”
“Not at all, sir,” Donghyuck insists, shaking his head. “It's really not your fault.”
“Still. I’ll stay away until my rut passes.”
“You don't have to!” The words burst out of Donghyuck before he can think. He catches himself, his cheeks burning a furious red as he frantically tries to smooth it over. “I—I mean… my heat ends tomorrow. You can come after that. It won't affect me,” he insists, his inner Omega practically whining at the thought of him walking out the door.
Jeno tilts his head, his dark eyes tracking the sudden, panicked flutter of Donghyuck’s eyelashes. “Do you stop taking suppressants after your heat ends?”
“Ah, yes,” Donghyuck swallows hard, his hand gripping the edge of the counter. “I change to daily-use scent patches. It's… it's standard practice for customer service.”
Jeno’s gaze drops to Donghyuck’s lips, a slow, incredibly dangerous smile touching his mouth. He lifts the iced coffee, his broad shoulders shifting as he finally takes a step backward toward the exit.
“Then see you in a week,” Jeno says, his low baritone vibrating right through the quiet cafe. “Because I'm likely to smell you right through it, and I don't want to do that to myself. Not an hour before a stakeholders meeting.”
Donghyuck’s brain completely shorts out. “Oh…” A high, breathless little giggle escapes him before he can choke it back. “Hehe… uhm.”
Donghyuck stands frozen behind the register, his face practically on fire as he watches the door swing shut, his brain entirely melted into mush.
His 99 reasons to hate alphas list is going to take some revisions after this… and he might need a new pair of underwear.