“So… can you repeat back what I just said?” August asked as he watched Galen use the needle on himself. The Omega’s attitude didn’t seem quite right.

Galen smiled at him as he put away the empty pen, “You’ll be fine; I just have to do this first.”

August sighed. He hadn’t expected that Galen would be so unnerved by his flare up. It seemed that everyone around him tended to panic at his health more than he did. After years of being sick, his parents and sister had more or less learned what was dangerous versus merely cause for concern, but clearly Galen didn’t understand the distinction.

The speed of the inducer’s effect couldn’t be rushed, but Galen was flitting about his room, removing his shoes and socks and stripping the comforter off the bed. He turned his attention to August’s shirt, still firmly on August’s body, and decided to fix that next.

As Galen reached for the hem, August caught his hands with his own. “Galen, can you breathe for a sec?”

“Of course, I already am,” Galen replied. But August didn’t let go of his hands until he looked up at him.

August’s expression was calm and serious, and he wasn’t going to let Galen go until he actually heard him. Galen searched that face for any sign of weakness, but couldn’t find any. So he smiled and inhaled as deeply as he could while August watched. He exhaled slowly, maintaining eye contact. Then, he inhaled again, since his wrists were still being held. After several more deep breaths, Galen couldn’t say he felt any better. He preferred to do something, to feel useful instead.

August couldn’t justify holding Galen any longer, so he let him go. He took off his own shirt, though. The wait for the inducer to take effect was turning out to be excruciating. He couldn’t do anything while he waited, or he risked getting pounced on by Galen, and he still remembered how that went the last time. On the other hand, he and Galen were currently just standing around half naked, which didn’t seem quite right, either.

Galen fidgeted restlessly, running his hands through his hair and picking up a lock of it to run along his lips as he faked an appearance of calmness. There truly seemed to be nothing else to do but wait for his heat to come. He looked back at August. The Alpha looked unbothered, although he was standing rather stiffly, with his arms across his chest. Galen gazed thoughtfully at that chest, and then continued looking all the way down to August’s waist. A certain memory from the power outage came to mind.

Galen smiled, stepping closer to August until he could feel the man’s body heat on his own bare chest. He looked up sweetly and proposed his new plan, “Well, we don’t have to wait for the inducer to take effect to start.”

August was startled, but he resisted the urge to step back, instead putting his hands on Galen’s shoulders so that the Omega couldn’t launch an ambush. He was starting to be able to tell apart Galen’s sincere expressions from the ones he put on when he wanted something, and this was definitely a ‘wanted something’ appearance. Clearly, Galen was still antsy. He looked the man over. There was no flush or other sign of a reaction, so Galen’s smooth skin remained clear and pale, from his cheeks to the crests of his hips that were just visible above the band of his pants.

Despite having just done the same, Galen felt like he couldn’t let August’s naked regard go unremarked upon. “You’re gonna burn a hole in me,” he said.

August lost his nerve at Galen’s playful words. He felt like he’d been caught red-handed doing something he wasn’t supposed to do. He let go of the Omega and stepped back rather dramatically. He could feel his face heating up, and he needed a chance to recover, but there was nowhere to hide in the bedroom.

“I, uh,” August tried to say something, but he didn’t know what.

Galen watched all this and couldn’t help but laugh. He hadn’t expected to get such a big reaction, but on second thought, it was really in character for August. A few noises escaped the other’s lips before he could compose himself, and he watched as August’s face flushed an even deeper shade of red. He covered his smiling mouth with the back of his hand and looked away.

“Sorry,” Galen said quickly, before he finished undressing.

A few beats later, August finally came back online. Embarrassment aside, he was sure that Galen’s smile just then had been genuine. He decided that the loss of a little dignity was worth it if it had helped calm Galen’s nerves.

August also took off the rest of his clothes, folding them up in a neat pile and placing them on the ground by the wall.

*** Explicit scene starts ***

“You should lie down on the bed,” Galen suggested.

August did just that, but he had only just relaxed when Galen climbed on as well, straddling his stomach. He looked up at the naked Omega, who still seemed to be smiling from earlier, and couldn’t help blushing again. From his perspective, Galen’s supple thighs lay beneath his tight waist, which in turn led upwards into a soft & sensitive stomach, and then a firm chest marked by two dots of colour. Galen’s face was far above him, beaming down a self-satisfied grin.

“What are you doing?” August said tightly. When he breathed too deeply, his diaphragm pushed up against the gap at the top of Galen’s thighs, and the incidental impression that left on his stomach felt unbearably hot. He put his hands beside his head and took tiny sips of air as he felt his entire face go red.

“Well…” Galen paused while he formulated his thoughts. He definitely had a plan a second ago, but he’d gotten distracted by August’s reaction. Or perhaps August’s reaction had been the plan. “I figure that all I have to do is sit right here and you’ll be ready when I go into heat.” He wiggled a little to accentuate his words.

August found he couldn’t say much to that; Galen’s plan was, in fact, already working. He smiled and relaxed again, took a deep breath, and swept his gaze up and down Galen’s body once more. This time, he didn’t bother to disguise his interest at all. It was Galen’s turn to blush as he watched August’s predatory eyes roam all over his skin. It really did feel like everywhere the Alpha looked got hotter, as if he was leaving behind an invisible burn, and Galen couldn’t help but desire relief.

Not much time seemed to pass before the inducer finally took effect. August watched with fascination as Galen’s bare skin flushed and a shiver passed through him. Galen’s eyes clouded and were tinged with need, a soft hum in his throat transforming into a gasp as his lips parted. It was a beautiful thing to witness, and August couldn’t resist reaching out and encouraging Galen’s rapidly engorging cock, teasing it with his fingers and fondling the balls beneath. Galen let out a breathy moan as August played with him, restlessly squirming on August’s stomach. August felt a warm, slick fluid spread between them and thrilled at the knowledge that Galen’s body was ready for him.

As the scent of his pheromone unfurled around them, Galen reached behind him and felt for August’s cock. Once he had it in hand, he lifted himself up, positioning his needy hole above August’s head. August wrapped his hands around Galen’s waist, rubbing his thumbs along the seam where hips turned into legs, and closed his eyes in bliss as Galen sank down, swallowing him whole. The feeling of being buried alive inside of his Omega chased away any lingering worries he had, and he relished the succulent warmth surrounding his shaft as Galen softly cried out in pleasure above him.

Galen shifted his weight until he was comfortable, adjusting to the pressure August exerted inside him. His Alpha’s presence soothed him, but he still needed more, his heat clutching him beneath his skin and driving him to desperation. Even now, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he ought to be doing something, and he rushed to satisfy this impulse. With soft thighs, he pushed himself up until August’s cock was half out of him, then impaled his innermost tender slit on the rod, making himself gasp and tremble at the shocking sensation.

August gasped too, bucking slightly at the intensity of the action, and he gasped again when Galen repeated it. He struggled to match the Omega’s tempo as Galen impaled himself on him over and over with a feverish sort of violence, ruthlessly causing his own cries as shudders rolled through him. The devilish rhythm left them both breathless, August supporting Galen as he danced on top of him, each of them swept up in currents of desire and need, and desperate to push themselves further and closer together.

Galen’s breathing grew ragged as his constitution showed itself, and his thighs betrayed weakness as he combed his sweaty hair out of his face and grit his teeth, determined not to slow down. He felt so close, tantalizingly close, to something he desperately needed and was afraid of not getting. With August beneath him, he felt like he had the world squeezed between his thighs, a hard body with soft breath that he couldn’t afford to let go of.

Galen’s exhaustion awoke something predatory in August. His vulnerability was seductive, arousing the Alpha’s natural desire to push him down and fuck him until his voice went hoarse from begging for release. August turned the idea over in his mind, running his tongue over his teeth thoughtfully, but some sane remaining corner questioned if he should be concerned by the uncharacteristic behaviour. He tried to speak up.

“Are you—” No sooner did the words leave his lips than Galen swooped down and crushed them between his own. The silencing kiss was brutal and sudden, intruding on August’s thoughts and preventing him from remembering what he was going to ask. Galen’s tongue pushed past August’s parted lips and investigated every inch it could reach, sweeping past teeth and gums as if chasing the sound of his voice. August could only retaliate, wrapping his hand around the back of Galen’s head and pushing back against the intrusion, running his tongue along Galen’s until he could no longer tell where one ended and the other began. Galen was reassured by August’s hot breath and steady hand. He chased the kiss relentlessly until he couldn’t bear it anymore, breaking away to gulp for air.

August flipped them while he was distracted, and Galen felt himself being pushed down as he struggled to get his bearings. August loved his hazy, confused expression, half-lidded eyes struggling for understanding, so he kissed him again, more softly this time, lingering in Galen’s moist air and softness, only pulling away when his Omega became pliant beneath him.

August reared up, hooking one of Galen’s legs behind the knee and pulling it over his shoulder as he changed his angle and resumed the desperate rhythm the kiss had interrupted. With energy to spare, he pushed harder and harder until he was satisfied with the noises his Omega was making as he writhed below.

His eyes narrowed in satisfaction, and he planted more kisses around those lips, that cheek and jaw, and down the side of the neck until he arrived at the tender gland. He kissed it, too, running his lips and teeth along the hot and delicate skin, knowing it would take only a little more pressure to break. “Ah—ah, August” Galen whined for him, still out of breath, as he mouthed the area, taunting them both with the anticipation. When he couldn’t take it anymore, August sank his teeth deep into Galen’s gland, and the cut grass scent rushed to greet him, tumbling him in a fresh and bitter world until he regained his senses.

*** Explicit scene ends ***

As he recovered from Galen’s pheromones, August found that he’d once again overdone it, his muscles protesting stiffly. He got out of bed anyway. He had never wanted to go to the hospital less than in this moment, but putting it off would only prolong the process. So he took care of his exhausted Omega and then went to take a shower, planning the list of things he should take to the hospital with him.

When he came out of the shower, he doubled-checked that he had everything he needed to do school work and called a cab. Then, he grabbed his bag by its straps and went to go wait for it outside. To his surprise, he found Galen sitting at the top of the stairs, dressed casually and hunched over. “Galen?” he checked.

“Hm yes?” Galen responded, leaning back so he could look up at August. He didn’t look any less tired than August felt.

“Are you okay?”

Galen yawned. “Of course. I’m going to wait with you. Did you already call a ride?”

“Yeah, can I get past you?”

Galen picked himself up and went down the stairs. They walked out the front door together into a nice, sunny day, and Galen leaned on the wall while they waited.

“You can go back to bed if you want. This is boring.”

“No,” Galen managed before yawning again. He could always fall asleep after being marked, even if it was in the middle of the day, but as soon as August had left his room, he’d jolted awake. Whether or not it was reasonable, he couldn’t deny he was nervous for August, and he felt better being up than tossing and turning in bed, unsure of himself. He combed through his hair with his fingers, struggling to think of something to say. “Are you still feeling alright?” he finally managed, after a minute or two.

“Yeah. Just frustrated. It’s probably something dumb. I’ll let you know how it goes,” August replied, “I’ve always got to stay a few hours for observation, though, even once they’ve sorted it out, so don’t expect me back before tomorrow.”

“That long?”

“Well, it’s hard to tell. I’ll message you when I know.”

They fell into silence again, waiting for the cab. Galen closed his eyes and sunned himself, and August couldn’t help peeking at the pair of dashed crescents peeking out from under his collar. The dark red looked striking against the pale skin under the light of day. It would heal in a few hours, but August couldn’t help thinking that it looked less comfortable than his rash.

“Does it hurt?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“Mm?” Galen opened his eyes, “Oh, the marking? Not really,” he gingerly stretched his neck from side to side, testing it, but the mark could only be said to ache a little, “I’m built for it.”

August could only admire him. Before they had time to say anything else, the cab pulled up, and Galen watched as August waved bye to him and disappeared down the driveway.