Chapter Text
“Whoa...” Mitsuki muttered, looking at the newly refurbished stage. “So this is what the renewed Zero Arena looks like...”
“To think that we’ll be dancing on such a splendid stage...” Ryuu said, his voice sounding just as awed as Mitsuki’s. “It is truly an honour...”
They'd gotten another hour of practice after lunch before leaving Takanashi Productions for Zero Arena. The staff had kindly showed them around the backstage, giving them a brief tour of the waiting rooms and explaining the layout to them. It was only after they’d gone around the entire backstage that they’d come to the main hall of the arena, where most of them were looking at the stage in a sort of reverie.
Gaku, though impressed by the grandness of the stage, was more concerned with the state of a certain younger alpha’s ankle. He was standing in the back with Tenn, a little distance away from the others, and he was rather sure that he noticed Tenn favouring his uninjured leg – again. “Oi, Tenn.”
Tenn glanced at Gaku briefly before looking back at the stage. “What?”
“How’s your ankle?”
“You don’t have to be so worried all the time, you know,” Tenn sighed. His ankle was starting to hurt a little, which was normal considering they’d been practicing for nearly the entire morning. That was, of course, excluding the time they’d spent arguing and talking things out. He could tolerate the throbbing ache, but that didn’t mean it was comfortable. “My ankle’s fine.”
“Huh. That must be why you’re favouring your left ankle,” Gaku deadpanned.
“Stop being a naggy old man,” Tenn hissed. “It’ll be fine. I just need to rest it when I get home.”
Sighing under his breath, Gaku said, “Just let me look at it later. Don't argue, or I’ll tell Nanase.”
Tenn gaped at Gaku incredulously. “Are you threatening me now? You wouldn’t,” he said. He briefly considered reminding Gaku that he too knew some of Gaku’s secrets, but he’d already told Riku and Iori that the leader was a part-time soba deliveryman. The thought of explaining how that had come up in conversation wasn’t something Tenn wanted to entertain.
“Nanase, I have something to tell you.”
“Fine, I’ll do it. Shut up!”
“What is it?” Riku asked, looking over at the duo.
“Oh, nothing much. Tenn was just telling me about your childhood together.”
“...okay?” Riku replied, clearly confused. “That’s... good? I guess?”
“It’s pretty interesting,” Gaku agreed, ending the conversation and looking back down at Tenn with a smug smile. “It’s not so bad to listen now and then, is it?”
With a huff, Tenn muttered, “I cannot believe the nerve of some people.”
Gaku wasn’t at all bothered by Tenn’s tone. “Hey, it’s your choice.”
“Alright then, let’s get started!” Anesagi called out, cutting their conversation short. “Tenn’s group is first. Are you ready, Tenn?”
Shooting Gaku one last glare, Tenn turned to Anesagi and nodded. “Yes. I'll be in your care.”
“Riku-san, Iori-san, we’re counting on you!”
The couple went up to stand beside Tenn on the stage. “Yes!”
“Hey, Tenn-nii, what was Yaotome-san talking to you about?” Riku asked as they got into position. “You were really telling him about our childhood?”
“It was actually about our schedules tomorrow.”
“Really? Is that why you’re so disgruntled?” Iori asked sarcastically. “Couldn't have guessed.”
“Drop it, Izumi Iori.”
“If you say so.”
The music started playing, and the trio eased into the first steps of the choreography.
The rest of them watched from the audience seats, Gaku keeping his gaze on Tenn and resisting the urge to sigh at the way the younger was favouring his injured ankle. Beside him, Ryuu commented,” This is great! Tenn, Riku-kun, and Iori-kun are all so cute and stylish with this pop song!”
“I wonder how many people will figure it out just from watching that,” Gaku said offhandedly.
“Huh?”
“That they’re twins,” Gaku clarified, just as the song ended and Anesagi started clapping.
“Good job, Tenn! That was the best!” she called out, sounding very much like a proud mother. Then, as an afterthought, she added, “The IDOLiSH7 boys were pretty good too. Next!”
“Yamato-san, Mitsuki-san, Nagi-san, good luck!”
“Yeah!”
“Sure, sure.”
“My girl, I will show you my very best, just for you.”
“Thank you very much!” Tsumugi replied, looking over at Gaku. “Good luck to you too, Gaku-san!”
Gaku nodded with a small smile, gaze flickering to Tenn briefly. Tenn met his gaze for a fraction of a second, and then he was looking away. Gaku did sigh, this time. He'd find a way to make Tenn show him his ankle afterwards. “Leave it to me.”
Riku’s face lit up as the quartet performed their song, looking over at Tenn and Iori with an excited grin on his face. “They’re so cool! Both their song and their dance are flashy, so I’m sure the audience will be the most pumped up for this performance!”
Iori nodded, though his smile was more thoughtful than excited. “It’s a strange feeling, isn’t it... seeing your brother in another group,” the omega said.
“Isn’t it lonely?” Riku replied in agreement. “I get it, though. I mean, that's how I always feel.”
Belatedly realising that he might’ve been rubbing salt into Riku’s wound, Iori grimaced slightly. “Ah, I didn’t mean it that way, Nanase-san.”
“It’s fine,” Riku assured. “I’m glad that I’m in IDOLiSH7.”
“And now we’re together,” Tenn added, eliciting another grin from Riku.
“Good work, everyone!” Tsumugi praised. “You were all super cool!”
“Right?” the four replied in unison.
“Thank you very much, my sweet girl,” Nagi said. “Let me blow a kiss to you, filled with my gratitude.”
“Stop that,” Mitsuki snorted, elbowing his boyfriend playfully. “What a flirt.”
“Oh you, Nagi-san...” Tsumugi chuckled, by now used to Nagi’s antics. She noticed the sudden movement beside her, glancing at Anesagi to see that the elder had crouched down abruptly. “W-what’s wrong, Anesagi-san!? You crouched down so suddenly...!”
“...I-it’s nothing,” she muttered. “Please continue.”
“A-alright then. Tsunashi-san, Sougo-san, Tamaki-san, we look forward to seeing you perform!”
“Yes, I’ll be in your care,” Ryuu said. “Are you two okay?”
“Yes!”
“Yeah.”
“Oh...” Yamato muttered as the trio performed, unable to help but be amazed at the way they danced. “They’re so sensual... The Tsunashi Effect sure is powerful...”
Mitsuki shook his head. “No, no. It's because #4 from our team is the 5th Most Desired Man.”
“Sougo has always been sexy,” Nagi added, and Mitsuki raised a brow at him. For a moment Nagi panicked, wondering if Mitsuki was jealous, but the way his lips were quirked upwards in mild amusement said otherwise. “There’s sensuality in remaining clothed. It's wabi-sabi.”
“They’re so sexy...” all three sighed at the same time.
“Ryuu, good job! That was se- that was sensational!”
“Sougo-san, Tamaki-san, good work out there! With that, we’re done checking the stage!”
---
Closing the door behind him, Gaku instructed, “Show me your ankle.”
Tenn shot Gaku a half-hearted glare, but sat down on the closed toilet lid and lifted his leg.
He and Gaku had gone backstage while the others gathered to cool down and talk about the day’s practice. They'd intended to head into one of the waiting rooms, but they were all locked, so Gaku had suggested going into the toilets instead. The suggestion had earned him a blank stare from Tenn, but they both agreed that there wasn’t really anywhere else to go.
When Gaku’d called him over for what he said was a ‘quick discussion’, Riku had looked at Tenn in a mix of curiosity and concern. Tenn could understand why; considering he’d admitted that he had feelings for Gaku, and that the elder had confessed to him, it was only natural for Riku to think that something was up. Iori had shaken his head at his alpha, and for once Tenn was glad for the omega’s presence. He didn’t know if he’d have been able to come up with an excuse for Riku on the spot.
Gaku bent down on one knee, placing Tenn’s foot on the other and pulling his shoe off, along with the ankle support he was wearing. He didn’t notice the blush on Tenn’s face; the position Gaku was in was nothing if not misleading, almost as if he was proposing. “It’s swelling again,” Gaku sighed, brows knitting into a frown. “You should’ve just told Nanase and Izumi-otouto that you had to take it easy.”
“That’s unprofessional,” Tenn retorted. “Besides, we don’t get a lot of time to practice with them, so I wasn’t about to waste today by sitting out. Wouldn’t want to lose to yours and Ryuu’s units.”
Gaku rolled his eyes and felt around Tenn’s ankle, squeezing gently and watching the younger’s face for any signs of pain. Apart from a slight grimace here and there, though, Tenn didn’t react much to the slight pressure on his injured ankle. “It isn’t a competition, you know,” Gaku said dryly. “At least it’s looking much better than the first day.”
“Gee, I wonder why,” Tenn deadpanned. “Might it have been because, contrary to popular belief, I actually know how to take care of an injured ankle? Shocker.”
“You don’t have to be so sarcastic,” Gaku muttered. “I’m just concerned.”
Because you like me, right? Tenn wanted to ask, but bit his tongue before the words could leave his mouth. He'd been on edge ever since Gaku had confessed to him, overthinking every little thing that the leader did and trying his best not to react as if he was pleased by the attention.
It was worse now that Riku and Iori knew his little secret; he had no choice but to trust that they wouldn’t blab, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still worried. And of all times to be injured, it had to be now, when they’d have the most interaction with the IDOLiSH7 members. “Help me put the ankle support back,” Tenn said instead.
“Yeah, I’m on it.”
As he watched Gaku wrap his ankle back up, Tenn couldn’t help but think, not for the first time, that it was truly strange to be treated so gently. He wasn’t used to it at all, nor did he think he could ever get used to it. Tenn thought of what Riku and Iori had advised him to do. Then, almost immediately after the thought came to mind, he shook it off. Confessing to Gaku, he thought with a mental scoff. I must be going crazy.
“I’m done,” Gaku announced, getting up from the toilet floor and dusting his pants off. “Let’s get back before the others start to question what we were talking about.”
The leader offered a hand to help Tenn up, and the younger stared at it as if it was a foreign object. A few seconds passed, both of them awkwardly waiting for the other to make a move. “I-I can walk on my own,” Tenn finally said, standing and pushing past Gaku. “Let’s go already.”
He didn’t see the way Gaku pursed his lips, dropping his outstretched hand before turning to follow after the younger. “He’s the one who rejected me,” Gaku muttered under his breath. “Why’s he the one acting all weird now?”
---
“I’m beat,” Yamato said, plopping down onto the couch and closing his eyes. “And still starving.”
“We just ate dinner,” Mitsuki reminded dryly. “What, you held back on them?”
After they’d left Zero Arena, the entire group had gone to a nearby restaurant following short debriefing of their first joint practice together. Anesagi had picked up the tab, paying with the company credit card, so the ten idols had been able to eat to their hearts’ content. That didn’t mean that they’d actually ordered everything they wanted to – it didn’t seem like it’d leave a good impression, sponging off another company like that.
Yamato raised a brow at Mitsuki. “You didn’t?”
“...yeah, I did,” Mitsuki conceded. “I’ll cook something for supper. The others can go and shower first.”
“I’ll help you, nii-san,” Iori offered, already going over to the kitchen and picking up the spare apron. He looked over at Riku, smiling when the alpha met his gaze. It felt really good to finally clear the air, to talk everything out and get rid of the weird atmosphere between them. For the past several weeks, Iori hadn’t been able to look at Riku without being worried about his boyfriend.
That worry had overshadowed the love and pride he usually felt for Riku, and Iori had genuinely worried for their relationship. Looking back now, those worries seemed a little ridiculous. “Nanase-san, you should go and shower first,” he told the alpha. “It’d be bad if you caught a cold.”
“I’m not that weak,” Riku chuckled. “But okay, fine, I’ll go. Everyone's okay with that, right?”
“Yeah,” the others chorused.
“We should watch the latest episode of Kokona while waiting!” Nagi suggested excitedly.
“I’ll be playing games in my room.”
“I-I’ll read my book in your room then, Tamaki-kun.”
“The two of you are heartless,” Yamato grumbled. “I guess I’ll be watching with you, Nagi.”
Mitsuki laughed. “Don’t tire him out, Nagi. If you’re good, I’ll sleep with you tonight.”
“You’re in a good mood today, nii-san,” Iori commented, taking the vegetables from Mitsuki and washing them.
“So are you,” the elder Izumi replied. “What happened during today’s joint practice?”
Iori hummed thoughtfully, running through the day’s happenings in his head and filtering out the parts he didn’t need to tell Mitsuki. One such example was the little incident with Tenn while Riku had been out buying drinks. While Iori still didn’t particularly like Tenn, he also didn’t wish for Mitsuki to murder the man. “We talked things out,” was what the omega settled on saying. “You?”
“Yaotome’s pretty good at encouraging people,” Mitsuki replied nonchalantly. He briefly considered telling Iori that Gaku wasn’t as perfect as he seemed; that even Gaku could be rejected by the person he liked. But it wasn’t his secret to tell, so he opted not to talk about it.
Iori smiled, relieved to see that Mitsuki was back to his usual self. “I’m glad.”
Mitsuki flashed Iori a grin in response. “I’ll leave you in charge of the vegetables. Nii-san will handle the meat and soup, and then I’ll make some pancakes for you.”
“Thanks, nii-san. You know I love your pancakes.”
Chuckling, the beta nodded. “That I do.”
---
Riku yawned as he walked back to the living area, hair dried and clothes changed. He'd taken his time blow-drying his hair after showering, and then spent a good half hour scrolling through his social media.
He still saw some arguments between fans, comments about how great IDOLiSH7 was with Iori as the centre, but the suffocating weight that’d been on his chest was now gone. Riku could say with conviction that he was proud of his omega, that he wasn’t jealous in the least. “Iori deserves to be recognised for his hard work,” Riku said to himself with a smile. “I’d rather this than have people bashing him.”
“Rikkun, food’s almost done,” Tamaki called out.
“Coming!” Riku replied, pocketing his phone and getting off his bed. Tamaki was waiting for him outside his room, Sougo beside him, and the trio headed back to the living area together.
Nagi was helping to set the table when they walked in, freshly showered and wearing one of his Kokona t-shirts. Yamato was on the couch, still, but he’d finished showering as well. The group had long ago learnt to shower quickly, considering they only had one shared bathroom in the common area, and usually nobody wanted to walk all the way to the heat and rut rooms to use the showers there.
Riku’s face lit up when he saw Iori plating pancakes, walking over to the omega and resting his chin on his shoulder. “Are those for me?” he asked hopefully.
“Actually, they’re for Iori,” Mitsuki corrected, sounding amused. “I’m not sure if he wants to share.”
“Nii-san’s right, I don’t feel like sharing,” Iori replied, turning around and smiling innocently at his boyfriend. Riku pouted, and Iori’s smile widened. “I’m not really good with sharing.”
“Will you share your bed with me tonight, at least?”
“Okay, stop flirting in front of me,” Mitsuki said with a roll of his eyes. “I’m going to shower. Nagi, help me portion out the rice for everyone, please. Tamaki, don’t eat the pancakes. They're not for you.”
“Okay!” the blond replied cheerfully.
Iori waited until Mitsuki closed the door behind him before looking at Riku, a teasing smile now on his face. “What if I say no?” the omega asked, going to put his pancakes on the dining table. “What’re you going to do about it?”
“Sulk, maybe,” Riku shrugged. “And try to convince you by looking sad and lonely.”
“You’re impossible,” Iori laughed. “Well, my bed is something I’m willing to share. But not my pancakes. Never my pancakes.”
“You guys are so sweet it’s disgusting,” Yamato commented, swishing his beer around with a blank look on his face. “I’m glad you managed to work things out, but seriously, stop flirting here. You guys can make out in the privacy of your room later.”
Riku stuck his tongue out childishly at the leader, and Iori chuckled in mild exasperation.
Nagi walked out of the kitchen with the last two bowls of rice, setting them down on the table before giving Yamato a disapproving frown. “Yamato, you shouldn’t be so jealous!” he chided, and Yamato directed his blank stare at the blond. “You should be happy that Riku and Iori aren’t fighting anymore!”
“I don’t think they were fighting, per se,” Sougo cut in. “Right?”
“I’d call it a misunderstanding, rather than a fight.”
“But it’s all good now?” Tamaki asked, grinning when the couple nodded in reply. “That’s good. It isn’t good to argue, so don’t do it anymore!”
It was Iori’s turn to stare at Tamaki blankly. “I... really don’t want to hear that from you, Yotsuba-san.”
“Hey, that’s rude.”
“Okay, no fighting,” Yamato sighed. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but can we just watch MagiKona to pass the time? Mitsu won’t take too long to shower, and neither will Ichi, so if we’re lucky, we’ll only have to suffer for twenty minutes.”
“Suffer- Watching Kokona is not suffering!” Nagi gasped, offended. “You take that back!”
“Come on, pick an episode already.”
Iori watched as Nagi reluctantly picked out an episode, sitting as far away from Yamato as possible and focusing on the screen. Tamaki and Sougo sat between the two – Sougo had suggested that they do so, act as a sort of buffer just in case Nagi truly was upset.
Certain that the others were preoccupied with watching the TV, Iori leaned in to Riku. “Should we try and ask about that later?” the omega asked quietly.
Riku looked at his boyfriend with a raised brow. “That?”
“You know, the thing that Kujo-san was talking about.”
Realisation dawned upon the redhead, and then Riku was frowning. “Should we? He did tell us not to tell anyone...” he trailed off. “I do also want to help Tenn-nii, though.”
“We’ll do it in a roundabout way, then,” Iori said simply. “Leave it to me.”
“Thanks, Iori. You’re not angry at Tenn-nii?”
“I am,” he allowed. “But I think everyone deserves a shot at love.”
---
It was only after dinner that Iori brought the topic up. He worked on his pancakes, one of which Riku had taken the liberty to decorate with whipped cream and chocolate sauce while Iori’d been in the shower, and looked at the others. “Nii-san, you guys practiced with Yaotome-san, right?” he asked, keeping his tone nonchalant.
“You know that already,” Mitsuki replied. “Why’re you asking?”
“Did he mention, you know, anything about relationships?”
“You know that he knows about you guys?” Mitsuki asked incredulously. “When did he tell you?”
Iori blinked; that wasn’t how he’d expected this to go. “Wait, he knows about me and Nanase-san?” he asked, forgetting for a second that if Tenn had found out about his being an omega from that night in the dorm, Gaku would have too.
“So much for roundabout,” Riku snickered, earning himself an elbow in the side. “Hey!”
“He said Kujo told him,” Yamato offered as explanation. “From when he came to our dorm that time.”
Turning to Riku, Iori raised a brow, both of them sharing confused looks with each other. They knew when Yamato was talking about and, thanks to Tenn, they also knew that Gaku had actually been there in person. Evidently, though, Gaku had opted to leave that part out. “I’m pretty sure Kujo-san didn’t tell him,” Iori said slowly.
“That’s what Yaotome-shi told us, though.”
“So… he didn’t tell you that he was actually in our dorm that night,” Iori deadpanned.
“…huh?” the trio echoed. Tamaki and Sougo looked equally confused, but they remained silent.
Iori nudged his boyfriend. “This is a little weird to explain. Nanase-san, can you do it instead?”
Riku made a face, but he sighed and nodded regardless. “The Yamamura Soba delivery guy is really Yaotome-san. That’s what Iori meant when he said that Yaotome-san was in our dorm. Because he was.”
“...he’s who now?!”
“But he- I’ve seen that delivery guy flirt with Manager!” Yamato exclaimed, now looking at Mitsuki and Nagi in disbelief. “That’s not who Yaotome told us his crush was! Although, to be fair, I’ve also seen the idol Yaotome flirt with Manager. I’m not sure what to believe anymore.”
“He was trying to forget about his crush? Maybe?” Mitsuki tried to reason.
“…wait,” Nagi said suddenly. “Yaotome-shi told us that he confessed while driving his crush home.”
“That would be the soba delivery vehicle, yes,” Iori said through half a mouthful of pancake.
The other members either burst into laughter or choked on their saliva – except Sougo, who looked mildly horrified at the prospect of TRIGGER’s leader being a soba shop worker.
“Gakkun’s super unromantic,” Tamaki commented, once he’d managed to stop laughing.
“And Tsunashi-san didn’t tell us that he confessed…” Sougo added.
“Does everyone know that Yaotome-san likes Kujo-san?” Iori asked in disbelief. “Even MEZZO?”
Yamato looked at Iori in confusion. “Hold up. Why do you know about this? I get why Yaotome told us, and probably Tsunashi had good intentions when he told Tama and Sou, but you two? Why would Kujo tell you two?”
“What did Yaotome-san tell you guys exactly?” Iori asked instead. “That he confessed, and?”
“Kujo asked him to stop driving and got off,” Mitsuki replied. “We did tell him that that wasn’t indicative of a rejection, but I also find it hard to believe that it wasn’t a rejection.”
“Turns out it wasn’t, and Kujo-san does in fact like Yaotome-san,” Iori said. He ignored those gaping at him in disbelief, understanding fully well why they were so shocked. “And we really aren’t supposed to tell you this. And I still don’t particularly like Kujo-san, but I do think it’s wrong for him to give up before even trying. It's not fair to Yaotome-san, either.”
Yamato was the first to recover, though his eyes were still wide when he asked, “Kujo told you that he likes Yaotome? Of his own will? Why?”
Iori raised a brow at Riku, signalling him to reply Yamato as he finished off the last of his pancakes.
Riku shrugged, offering an apologetic smile. “Sorry, we really can’t tell you guys that,” he said, knowing better than to admit that Tenn had only shared this with them because he’d tried something on Iori. Who knew what Mitsuki would do to Tenn if he found out about that.
“So... we’re matchmaking now? For Gakkun and Tenten?”
“More like giving them a little push,” Iori corrected. “Honestly, Kujo-san seemed downright miserable when he was talking about his feelings for Yaotome-san. It almost made me feel bad for him.”
“This is so exciting!” Nagi exclaimed. “Much more exciting than that Secret Mission from Mr. Momo!”
“So?” Yamato asked, leaning back. “What’s the plan?”
---
Riku watched as Iori sighed, draping his shirt over Riku’s beanbag and pulling Riku’s sweater over his head. It was one of the sweaters that the alpha often wore, and Iori often borrowed it for his heats. Now, though, he was borrowing it for the sake of cloaking himself with Riku’s scent – even as much as he didn’t want to admit it, he still was rather affected by what Tenn had done earlier that day.
When he was done changing, he went over to sit down beside Riku, leaning against him and sighing once more. “You okay?” Riku asked, wrapping his arm around Iori’s shoulder and nuzzling his cheek.
The omega hummed, nodding slightly and snuggling closer to his boyfriend. “Just thinking.”
“About what Tenn-nii did?”
“Yeah,” Iori sighed, for the third time in the span of two minutes. “It’s just, I know he didn’t mean anything by it, but how far would he have gone if you hadn’t come back? The thought of it is a little terrifying. I was honestly worried that you wouldn’t come back quickly enough.”
“I didn’t expect him to do anything,” Riku huffed. He still wasn’t completely happy with Tenn, either, even if the elder had already apologised. The fact was that he’d dug up memories that Iori had rather not think about, and that in itself was a reason to be upset at Tenn. “I shouldn’t have left you two alone.”
“It’s not your fault, Nanase-san. You couldn’t possibly have expected that; I’d be worried if you had.”
“I mean, yeah, but I feel like I should’ve been more vigilant. Tenn-nii’s still an alpha, after all.”
Iori pulled away from Riku, earning a surprised look from the alpha, and tilted his head slightly to the side. Riku understood immediately, though he was hesitant. “Are you sure it’s okay? Will it remind you of, you know, that incident?”
“For god’s sake, Nanase-san, you’re my alpha. Of course it’s okay,” Iori said exasperatedly. He knew where Riku was coming from, and he would be glad that the alpha was considerate, but he’d much rather Riku just remember not to use his alpha voice on him. “In fact, I want you to scent me so that I can forget about what Kujo-san almost did.”
“Okay, okay,” Riku conceded, leaning into Iori’s exposed scent glands and nuzzling against them. Though they didn’t scent each other as often now compared to before, the two were still familiar with the action, and Iori purred contentedly when Riku rubbed their scent glands together.
Riku made sure to scent Iori thoroughly, working on one set of scent glands before moving to scent the other side. Iori was happy to let Riku do as he wanted, simply relishing in the feeling of being scented by his alpha. Sometimes it was strange to him, how averse he was to any other alpha coming this near to him, and how willing he was when Riku was the alpha in question.
When Riku pulled back slightly, Iori began to move away as well, only to jolt in surprise when he felt Riku’s lips brush against his scent glands. “N-Nanase-san? Wha-”
“Shh,” Riku hushed against the crook of Iori’s neck, sending a shudder down the omega’s spine. “I can’t say I’m happy with what Tenn-nii pulled, either. I think it’d be good to remind him that you’re very much taken, and definitely not leaving me anytime soon.”
“But we won’t be- seeing him- until a month later,” Iori managed to get out, barely holding in the moans and whimpers that threatened to escape his mouth at Riku’s ministrations. The alpha paid him no heed, pressing his lips against the sensitive skin and nipping almost teasingly at Iori’s scent glands.
It was only when he sucked particularly harshly that Iori let out a moan, considerably louder than any other time he’d moaned, feeling his stomach clench tightly in anticipation. He was glad that Mitsuki was sleeping in Nagi’s room tonight, though he wasn’t sure if the walls were thick enough that they weren’t able to hear him.
And when Riku bit down, albeit only gently, Iori couldn’t help but whine needily, digging his fingers into Riku’s back as he felt the alpha’s tongue swirling over the bruised area. The coiling heat in the base of his stomach became more unbearable as the time passed, and Iori had to push Riku away before he started leaking slick – the last thing he wanted was for his heat to come early, and at this rate it most certainly would. “S-stop it, Nanase-san, seriously,” Iori bit out, his voice sounding unsteady even to himself. “We can’t continue this.”
With a resigned sigh, Riku pulled back, though his eyes were still slightly clouded over with lust. “Yeah, I know,” Riku said, lips quirking up at the sides when he saw how flushed Iori was. “What, was I that good?”
Iori shot Riku an accusatory glare, but he averted his gaze barely a second later. He had to take a deep breath to calm his heartbeat, overly aware of the fact that Riku could smell his arousal; he could smell Riku’s, too, but the alpha was much better at keeping a poker-face about it. “It’s embarrassing; don’t ask something like that! Besides, you know my heat and your rut are coming up soon,” the omega grumbled, swatting Riku away when he attempted to wrap Iori in a hug. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my heat starting any earlier than it should.”
“Being a fated pair sucks sometimes,” Riku complained. “Are we supposed to avoid sex forever?”
Iori felt his face burn, more than it’d already been burning, at his boyfriend’s question. “Didn’t you pay attention in class? We can, but it takes time for our bodies to get used to the intimacy. That’s why we can’t do anything too close to our heat or rut until we’re used to it.”
“I know that, but still,” Riku pouted slightly, “the fact that it takes at least two rounds of sex for our bodies to get used to intimacy outside of heat and rut is kind of annoying.”
“Please stop saying the word sex,” Iori deadpanned. “Intercourse is sufficient. And now I feel like I need to take a cool shower, no thanks to you, or I’m not going to sleep with you tonight. I don’t even want to see what my scent glands look like right now – they feel kind of abused.”
Riku’s responding laughter was sheepish. “I think we both need that shower,” he pointed out. “I wasn’t expecting to get aroused, but my anatomy seems to think otherwise.”
“God, you’re impossible,” Iori chuckled exasperatedly, making sure not to look in the direction of Riku’s crotch. His own pants had felt a little tight, and he’d very nearly started to leak slick, so he imagined that Riku was about as aroused as he was. “I’m going to make a quick run to the showers at the heat rooms. You can take the normal shower.”
“No, you take the normal shower, and I go to the rut rooms,” Riku corrected. “It’s my fault for going too far, anyway. And you’d probably need some time to, um, admire my handiwork.”
It took Iori all of two seconds to understand what Riku meant, his fingers moving to the bruised area and pressing down on it gently. Wincing, Iori grimaced. He had no idea how he was supposed to hide this tomorrow, and he hadn’t even seen the severity of it yet. “Nanase-san...!”