The pain was nothing like V could ever imagine.
He was being pulled from the inside and then shaped forcefully by some force outside. It felt like everything in his body was cramping, even his bones felt like it was trying to escape his flesh. He never knew the human body was able to do this; he wasn’t even sure if he would get out of this alive. His mind should have shut down to protect himself ages ago. He was sure he would faint at any moment from the intense pain.
He wanted to cry.
It hurts so much.
V blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall, he had to keep it in if he wanted to save his pride. He couldn’t cry in front of this Alpha, not when he so boldly claimed that he was no weakling.
But dammit it hurts so much.
In the future, whenever he received an injury, he would always look back at this moment to console himself, because whatever injury he received was nothing like this. Even childbirth paled in comparison to this.
His body shook from a particularly forceful strain when he felt arms around his waist. Although his mind was dull, he realized that the Alpha broke his command to not look at him. Gritting his teeth, he promised himself to get back at him for this someday.
Just not now, not when his vision was slowly fading to black.
--
V was more subdued than Echo expected. He thought that when the Omega woke up, he would rampage around the house, demanding Echo to get on his knees and apologize.
Instead, he was met with an inquisitive gaze from the smaller male. V spent 15 minutes staring at him, saying nothing, so he said nothing too. They stood like that in the middle of the kitchen, one was holding a glass of water while the other was blocking the doorway.
It was Echo who cracked first. Putting the glass down on the counter, he asked, “How are you feeling?”
V narrowed his eyes at him and ignored his question, opting to ask his own. “Were you the one who changed my clothes?”
Echo felt drops of sweat forming on his forehead, he was walking straight into the danger zone. Should he tell him that he needed to be carried out after he fainted? Or that Echo was the only one who could carry him? But that was not what he asked now, was it? Should he apologize for the lewd thoughts he had? But then there was nothing wrong with simply having thoughts now, right? Right?
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” V’s question brought him back to the present.
He relaxed his expression, hoping his face wouldn’t give anything away. “Aunty Fey changed your clothes. She takes care of everything in the house so if you need anything, just tell her.”
V hummed and nodded. Echo released the breath he didn’t know he was holding when he saw that. He inhaled it quickly again when he saw that V was walking towards him.
The Alpha prepared himself to get hit, guilty conscience on overdrive, but the pain never came. He saw V make a beeline for the refrigerator and inspect the contents inside.
When five minutes passed with no movement from V, Echo started to worry. "Are you all right?"
The Omega kept staring at the open refrigerator so he repeated his question. This time, V turned his head to him but his eyes were vacant. Echo felt flustered looking into those eyes. It was the first time he saw them appear so lifeless.
“I don’t think you’re okay. Maybe you should sleep more,” he suggested in a soft voice, afraid that V would think he was insinuating that the younger male was weak.
His worries proved to be false as V did nothing but stare at him. No, to be more precise, V was staring at nothing. The more he was like this, the more Echo panicked. Was this some aftereffect of absorbing Hanatad’s water? But nothing like this happened to him.
He tried calling out to him again, but when V still did not react, he stepped closer. As if sensing a presence nearby, V’s eyes followed his movements. Echo was relieved to see this reaction, no matter how tiny, and moved closer until V was within his arm’s reach. He had to be ready in case the Omega fell unconscious again.
“Hey,” he said, even softer than before. “Let’s put you back to bed.” He reached out an open palm, not really expecting anything but offering the gesture anyway.
To his surprise, V slowly lifted his arm and put the tips of his fingers above his. It was more like a pat than anything so Echo took the initiative and confined V’s hand over his. Despite his worries, it wasn’t lost on him how they were holding hands for the second time that day.
Echo guided V into his room with small steps, walking backward and maintaining eye contact all the way. He felt that something bad would happen if he looked away.
They made it safely inside the bedroom despite the snail pace they took. Looking at the bare bed, Echo wondered if it would be improper to suggest that V build his nest at his home. They didn’t know how long he would be staying, after all.
He put the thought of what the suggestion would imply at the back of his head as he was confronted with another problem: how to put the unresponsive Omega to bed.
Would a simple ‘lie down’ work? Should he ask Aunty Fey to help? Should he carry him? But rule number one was to not get unnecessarily close.
Echo wouldn’t know unless he tried, so he went for whatever was easiest first. “Lie down, V.”
Fortunately, V did just that. Echo moved fast at tucking him in and fluffing the pillows. In the middle of his fretting, he saw the Omega close his eyes. When he was certain that V was asleep, he gently closed the door and made a dash for the sanctuary.
--
Echo found no records detailing the aftereffects of bathing in Hanatad’s water, but he found that he didn’t need it anyway. V returned to normal the following day, and when he asked if he was okay now, Echo was met with a harsh glare and a ‘when have I ever been not okay,’ so he left it at that.
He figured that the Omega was just tired, if not stressed. After all, his life had been tumultuous recently.
He thought that the younger male would avoid him, keeping himself in his room or in spaces where Echo was not occupying at the same time. However, V acted as if Echo did not exist in the first place. He moved around the house with no reservation, sometimes even lounging around the living room with a glass of wine in hand. Echo’s wine, of course. The Alpha did promise the other that he would take care of all his needs while they were residing together. The Omega did not hesitate to take full advantage of that promise, opening snacks and taking a bottle from the wine cellar whenever he wanted.
He’s like a gluttonous cat, Echo thought when he saw the kitchen garbage bin full of takeout containers.
V would respond when talked to but would not start a conversation with the Alpha. They would have breakfast together if they woke up at the same time, but even then, their meals were usually in silence.
Echo was fine with this. He found solace in quiet environments and he knew they couldn’t be considered friends, to begin with. They only lived together because it was safer that way, V would not get visions inside the house and Echo didn’t have to worry about any incident the Omega might have caused.
Still, the Alpha was astonished when he realized how he was so relaxed around the other man’s presence. He thought that he would be on his toes all the time, but he discovered that V was more laid-back than he seemed to be.
V didn’t chide the Alpha when he walked around sweaty after working out, or when he made a mess of the kitchen making a midnight snack, not even when Echo sat down with a book in hand to purposely be in the greenhouse with him. Granted, it was technically Echo’s house, but considering V’s previous actions, he expected the silver-hair to lose his temper at the slightest stimulation.
If the Omega didn’t send him warning glares every now and then, Echo might even say that having him around was soothing—his pheromones often exuded warmth and comfort. He was so at peace that for the first few days of their cohabitation, he almost forgot his original goal.
When Echo got his mind back, he tried to show him the barrier around the house that protected them, but V said he didn’t see anything. Only when he brought V’s hand to the glass-like barricade did a flash of recognition pass through the other man’s face. “I can’t see it but I guess you weren’t lying,” was all he said. Echo didn’t know if he should be offended or not but he let it go.
Other than that, V cooperated whenever Echo taught him how the blessing of The Mistresses worked. They first went through the history of the Keepers and if Echo saw V dozing off, he would never admit that he didn’t have the courage to reprimand him. He was not foolish enough to expedite his death.
They quickly deduced that their abilities were different from each other when V told him that he couldn’t see the ‘colors’ Echo was talking about. This put their lessons to a halt.
Locked in a stalemate, they spent soundless hours carefully browsing through the records left by Echo’s ancestors. It would take a long time as there was a lot. There were even some that dated back to when secondary genders didn’t exist yet.
“I bet I could fetch a good price if I sold these to the museum,” V goaded one lazy afternoon while holding a roll of aged parchment. “It’s the oldest thing I’ve ever touched!”
“Don’t even think about it,” he tried to say in a threatening tone but he sounded pitiful instead.
“Who’s going to stop me? You?” V asked before bursting in a peal of hearty laughter, his beautiful eyes curved in crescents. The Alpha never saw it from afar, but the other had deep dimples on each side of his cheeks. It was irresistibly adorable, tempting him to poke his finger.
Echo’s alpha stirred at the provocation. It yelled at him to show the Omega what he was capable of—to show him how he can pin him down, and how his sharp fangs can pierce the soft skin.
Make him submit, his alpha howled.
Witnessing V laugh up-close for the first time, he silenced his alpha and told him to just appreciate the view, that it had been a long time since they saw V enjoy himself. He wasn’t sure why he was bothered to know that the Omega was somewhat suffering since they met, but it was an unwelcome feeling nonetheless. Seeing V’s face light up, even at his expense, eased up the restlessness a bit.
However, the tranquility did not last long. That same night, V informed him that he would be leaving.
