Chapter Text
It was dark and cold outside, and frightening shadows loomed all around as Xiao Zhan clutched his bag closer to his chest. He knew as an unmated omega that he really should not be walking alone at night. What if he got robbed or hit on by some drunk? What if an alpha leered at him and started getting aggressive, or worse, what if he got raped?
Xiao Zhan wasn’t sure how he would be able to defend himself, and he only got more nervous as he kept thinking of all the possible dangers while the gentle omega made his way home as quickly as possible.
Xiao Zhan suddenly stopped in his tracks. He heard a loud banging noise coming from the dark alleyway and he closed his eyes.
“Don’t be stupid, Xiao Zhan. You don’t want to end up on the news for being dead.” But Xiao Zhan was an idiot who couldn’t help checking on the sound, even though he may have been walking willingly to his own death.
“Gods, Xiao Zhan, Xiao Zhan, ah, fuck, you are so stupid,” the omega hissed to himself, clutching his small bag even tighter against his chest as if it would offer him any protection at all as he peered around the corner.
Xiao Zhan could barely stifle his horrified gasp when he saw a young, scrawny kid surrounded by several buff-looking alphas. They towered threateningly above him, but the young alpha stared back at the men unfazed. The omega had to give it to the kid, he seemed unafraid to look death right in its eyes.
Xiao Zhan knew those type of brute alphas. They were thugs that had no hesitation over beating someone up, or worse, murdering them just for the cash in their victim's wallet. Lives meant nothing to them.
The shy omega had to do something, and quickly. He couldn’t just stand idly by and possibly witness a murder. Xiao Zhan searched quickly around him and picked up a nearby stone. He threw it at the group of men, shouting, “Hey you! Leave him alone!”
A few of the thugs peeled off from the group and began walking towards him. The teen turned to look at him with a strangely direct gaze. Xiao Zhan was trembling but he managed to hold up his phone, which lit up after he quickly pressed a few buttons.
“I filmed you all and sent it to a friend already,” he bluffed, trying to keep his voice steady despite his fear. “Get out of here or my friend will call the police!”
The goons heading his way paused, looking back to the angry man directly in front of the quiet boy with the oddly intense focus as if awaiting the man's instructions. The leader was stocky with long hair, and he looked like any other gangster Xiao Zhan had seen in the area, though he was better dressed than most.
The cruel-faced man leading the pack looked down at the brave youth who stared back at him, unflinching. He finally frowned and jerked his head at the other men, the group walking away.
“I won’t forget this, omega,” the threatening man called out as he left, his eyes scanning the trembling Xiao Zhan from head to toe with a sneer.
Xiao Zhan was scared out of his wits, but he ran over to the kid who was standing there with his arms crossed, his gaze unnerving in its intensity.
"He must be so afraid,” Xiao Zhan thought to himself. “And here I am, a stranger, running up to him. Idiot!”
Xiao Zhan held his hands up, trying to look less intimidating than he knew he must appear as a strange adult, and the teen tilted his head.
“Who are you?” the young alpha asked in a low voice. He seemed too stunned from the frightening experience to even react or question who those other men had been, and Xiao Zhan didn’t pressure him.
“My name is Xiao Zhan,” the omega answered in a soothing voice. “I’m glad I was here to help. Are you okay? Are you hurt? They didn’t hurt you right?”
The kid’s nose flared and he stepped closer to Xiao Zhan.
“Are you cold?” Xiao Zhan asked concernedly, quickly taking off his jacket to drape it around the boy who had edged intimately close to him. He appeared to be at least a few years younger than the omega, most likely early teens, and the boy looked ethereal. His expression was shy as he gazed at Xiao Zhan intently.
The beautiful teen stared up at him, stretching out a hand to touch Xiao Zhan’s face as if he wasn’t sure the tall man was real. His touch felt electric and Xiao Zhan jerked, schooling his expression so he didn’t scare the kid as his cheek flushed warm from the touch.
"He must be afraid they’ll come back,” Xiao Zhan worried. The omega smiled at him reassuringly as he patted his hand, the younger boy slowly pulling his cool hand away to drop back to his side.
“You’re okay,” Xiao Zhan reassured him gently. He put a friendly arm around the kid’s shoulder. “They won’t come back. You’re safe.”
The teen nodded, pulling the jacket close and sniffing again.
"I hope he didn’t catch a cold,” Xiao Zhan fretted. “You should get home,” he told the youth, patting him on the back and taking a step away. “I- I can take you there if you need me to? Do you need help getting home, could I call your parents for you? Do you need to use my phone?”
“Thanks. But I can get home on my own,” the teen said softly, looking up at Xiao Zhan through his long lashes. The brunet was slender with delicate features, and he looked so vulnerable and small wrapped in Xiao Zhan’s coat.
Xiao Zhan shivered again thinking about what could have happened to the teen with those huge brutes around trying to threaten him for who-knows-what reason. Xiao Zhan had immediately been able to tell that the kid was an alpha, but he was still so young, and definitely wouldn’t have been able to defend himself against all of those bullies.
“Could I use your phone, though?” the young alpha asked hesitantly. Xiao Zhan nodded quickly and handed it to him. The teen sent a quick text, then deleted it from Xiao Zhan’s phone before handing it back.
“Thanks,” he repeated, Xiao Zhan nodding in acknowledgement, not in the least offended by his caution.
“After dealing with those men, of course, he doesn’t want to give away his information to strangers on the street.”
“I’m just glad you’re okay,” Xiao Zhan said gently. He swayed suddenly, grabbing his stomach and barely managing to hold back a groan as heat flared in his belly.
“That’s strange,” the omega thought to himself.
“Aren’t you cold?” the youth asked suddenly, tilting his head and examining Xiao Zhan.
"How sweet he is, still worried about me after he was the one being attacked,” Xiao Zhan marveled to himself.
Xiao Zhan shook his head, rubbing his neck. “Actually, I’m feeling kind of warm?” he said, feeling unsure and shaking his head in an attempt to clear it. “I should get home. I must be getting sick. You should get home too.”
“Wang Yibo,” the teenager told Xiao Zhan abruptly, giving him a sweet smile.
Xiao Zhan smiled warmly back, glad that the shy alpha was trusting him enough to let down his guard. “I’m happy to meet you, Wang Yibo.”
Heat flared again, and Xiao Zhan’s eyes widened as he felt slick starting to leak from his hole. The omega tried to control his reaction, not wanting to frighten the young alpha who had already been through enough that night.
Xiao Zhan escorted Yibo to the end of the alley, glancing around to make sure the threatening men had left.
“Are you sure you can get home on your own, Yibo?” he asked sincerely, aware that something strange was happening to him but still worried about the shy, gentle boy whose large eyes were still fixed on Xiao Zhan.
The teen nodded, biting his lower lip as he looked up at the omega.
“Thanks again, gege,” he said softly, reaching out to grab Xiao Zhan’s hand and patting it in thanks. He gripped it firmly within his own, his thumb slowly rubbing against the older man’s skin as if he needed comfort from the traumatic experience, and Xiao Zhan almost whimpered as his belly flared again with heat.
Xiao Zhan managed to withdraw his hand slowly and smiled at the other, trying to keep his face steady. “I’m glad I was here, Yibo.”
They waved goodbye, Yibo’s steps echoing as he strode off. Xiao Zhan walked towards his home, which was in the other direction, and did not look back as he focused on a suddenly far more pressing concern.
The omega was definitely, impossibly, suddenly going through his first heat.
“What just happened?” he thought dazedly, trying to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other as he made his way the remaining blocks home. The omega was running by the time he got to his building, slamming the door to his apartment, locking it behind him and breathing heavily.
“Fuck,” Xiao Zhan groaned. Everything was getting so hot, so stifling. Xiao Zhan had never shed his clothes so fast in his entire life. With what felt like only a few steps, he managed to tumble naked on his bed. The omega spread his legs wide, catching the slick that ran down his thighs. He moaned, his entire body lit on fire.
Xiao Zhan couldn’t stop smelling a tantalizing scent that seemed to be lingering on his body. The aroma was strong and woodsy with a hint of smoky amber. He closed his eyes as he inserted a finger inside his dripping hole. One finger was not enough, Xiao Zhan needed so much more. The omega rolled over on his belly and jammed in two more fingers, quickly thrusting in and out, the slick making the glide too easy.
He moaned and sobbed at the same time. The pleasure his own fingers gave to him was just not enough to ease his frustration. Xiao Zhan had never been through a heat before, but he knew what would help him. He needed more than his own fingers, something bigger and longer that would stretch him out until he cried. The omega kept trying to focus on the feeling of his fingers plunging in and out of his wet hole, but his mind kept going back to the smell, focusing on it as if trying to tell him something.
Suddenly Xiao Zhan realized where the scent was coming from and his body flushed from shame.
“No, fuck, no,” he cried internally, trying to redirect his thoughts to anything, anyone else. Even while his mind rebelled against it, the innocent face of the teen he’d just met who had held his hand flashed through his mind. Xiao Zhan realized he wanted to be touched by the hand that had caused that scent to linger on him, and the thought of it lit the omega on fire.
The omega covered his mouth with his hand, trying to stifle his loud cries and realized that was exactly where the smell was that had been driving him wild. The teen had been reaching out to him for comfort, and Xiao Zhan, the terrible person that he was, was suddenly going through his heat and desperately wanted to be fucked by that far too young alpha. He wanted to be knotted so badly, but not by a child. What was happening to him?
Xiao Zhan pulled his fingers out. He couldn’t be satisfied with them, they didn’t reach far enough. With a trembling hand, he reached for his bedside table, opening the drawer. The omega blindly searched for his toy, fingers groping frantically until they found a long smooth silicone object with a flared base, imitating a knot. Xiao Zhan let out a sob of relief when he finally pulled it out, the weight of the phallus satisfyingly heavy in his hand.
He perched himself up on his knees. Because of the sheer quantity of slick leaking from the omega’s body, the toy went in smoothly. Xiao Zhan mewled obscenely as he finally found the relief he was searching for. He bounced up and down, again and again, fucking himself harshly on the toy. His hand flew to his mouth after a particular thrust that hit his prostate dead-on, and he shamefully gave in to his need, mouthing at the skin where he could still feel the lingering phantom touch.
“Ah ah ah! I wa-want, ah fuck,” Xiao Zhan groaned, hips slamming down on his duvet. “Y-yi—ah!” Xiao Zhan came undone when the tip of the toy grazed his prostate, and he spilt against his own stomach as he slumped forward, chest heaving from exertion.
The fire inside of him had been tamed for the moment, but he knew that the relief would be over soon when a new wave of lust hit him.
The next few days were long and torturous since Xiao Zhan didn’t have anyone to spend his heat with, and he quickly gave in to his temptation, focusing on the smell and imagining it was coming from a strong, dominant alpha who manhandled him into submission. He dreamed of a man thrusting his huge cock into him and making Xiao Zhan sob, pulling his hair and knotting him while he begged for more. In the omega’s mind, long fingers thrust into him, sharp teeth bit on his neck and marked him all over, and he cried out with each orgasm, the musky smell on his hand fading slowly until Xiao Zhan could only try to remember it.
If intense dark eyes gazing at him through ridiculous lashes flashed through his mind at the most inconvenient times while Xiao Zhan worked through his aching need, that was between him and his unbearable heat.
Finally, three days later, Xiao Zhan woke with his mind clear. He was starving and terribly dehydrated, barely able to get out of bed.
“Someday, maybe I’ll have someone to help me,” he thought wistfully as he tried to stand on wobbly legs.
Xiao Zhan hadn’t thought about it too much before. Like any other omega, of course, he hoped to find a mate that fit him perfectly, but at the same time, he was proud of his own independence.
He was 20, and he was in his second year of art school. Xiao Zhan lived by himself just off-campus and was focused on his studies. He had planned to live in the dorms throughout college, but he had one too many bad run-ins at the dorm during his freshman year. Two drunk alphas had started getting too aggressive, and the omega had decided an apartment would be easier. This place had been ideal, turning into Xiao Zhan’s sanctuary where he always felt safe.
“Oh gods, what if this happened while I was still in the dorms?” Xiao Zhan thought to himself, flushing red again at the idea of crying out as loudly as he had been within the thin dormitory walls. He would have had alphas trying to break down his door for sure.
At the moment, though, the idea of an alpha's help had merit. The omega swayed leaving the bedroom, clad only in a thin red robe after showering the various fluids off his worn-out body. Xiao Zhan had a fleeting pang as he remembered that scent that had been so tempting, but quickly shook his head, shoving those strange feelings away.
It was early afternoon on a Saturday, and Xiao Zhan was grateful that he had the weekend to get his head on straight after the whirlwind of the last few days.
“At least I’ll never see that kid again,” he thought thankfully, stumbling against a chair as he made his way to the living room and trying to steady himself.
"It’s as if I can still smell it.” He shook his head in confusion as the strong scent which had finally disappeared suddenly seemed to reassert itself.
“Are you okay?” Xiao Zhan heard in a low voice and he let out a shriek, falling backwards onto the floor and staring wide-eyed at the teen. The young alpha was sitting on a chair in his living room.
Xiao Zhan pulled his robe tightly around him. “Yibo, what the fuck?” the omega sputtered.
“Your door was open,” Yibo said matter-of-factly, as if it was normal to walk into a stranger’s home just because the door was unlocked.
"I thought I locked it, fuck! I was in worse shape when I came in than I realized,” Xiao Zhan thought unhappily.
“I wanted to return your jacket.” The young alpha held it out stiffly, and Xiao Zhan awkwardly pulled himself up from the ground to take it, his body aching but the omega unwilling to make the strange situation any worse.
He managed to take the proffered item, ignoring a sudden wild urge to bury his face in it and inhale the musky scent that he could already smell from a distance. Xiao Zhan laid the coat carefully on the couch before taking a seat farther away, trying to keep his weak body as covered as possible in his thin garment.
“Um, thanks,” Xiao Zhan replied, trying to compose himself. “It’s not really appropriate for you to just let yourself in though,” he said hesitantly.
Yibo ducked his head, the alpha clearly ashamed of his actions.
“It’s fine, though,” Xiao Zhan said hastily, not wanting to make the teen feel bad. “Just, you know, be sure to knock next time.”
“Fuck, if he had been here yesterday,” Xiao Zhan flushed bright red, trying to avoid the teen’s eyes.
Yibo nodded quickly in agreement. “Are you okay, Zhan-ge?” he asked innocently. “You look like you’ve been sick.”
Xiao Zhan gulped, wrapping his silk robe tighter as the teen eyed him curiously. “I’m just really thirsty,” he admitted.
The kitchen looked so far away, and he steeled himself to continue moving towards it now that he was again on his feet, though first, he had to get rid of the polite kid.
“I’ll help!” the teen offered, his eyes bright as he quickly darted into the kitchen.
“Yibo, ah, you don’t...!” Xiao Zhan started trying to stop the enthusiastic youth but quickly gave up as he continued to slowly trudge his way to the kitchen.
The omega was too exhausted to put up a real fight. He dropped into a chair at the table and gratefully took the glass of water that Yibo offered him, gulping it down quickly and wiping his mouth. Yibo quickly refilled the glass and ran back to him, offering it again, and Xiao Zhan drank two more full glasses before finally putting the empty cup down on the table.
“You’re a lifesaver,” he sighed, shooting a sunny smile at the teen who grinned guilelessly back at him.
“Only fair after Zhan-ge saved me,” Yibo said with a shrug.
Xiao Zhan huffed out a laugh at the audacious kid, but didn’t bother to correct his familiarity. “He is just too sweet.”
“Are you hungry?” the teenager asked, and Xiao Zhan nodded.
“I’ll have to order something,” the omega said with another sigh, “Oh fuck, I left my phone. Shit, sorry, ah, dammit!”
Xiao Zhan was so flustered. He couldn’t believe what a terrible example he was setting in front of this young man. Yibo probably thought he was hungover, and Xiao Zhan couldn’t set him straight with the much more embarrassing reason for his condition. And now here he was, swearing like a sailor. Xiao Zhan just couldn’t do anything right.
“I’ll get your phone!” Yibo volunteered, immediately starting to move towards his bedroom.
“No!” Xiao Zhan cried out and managed to grab his arm tight, stopping Yibo from taking another step. “No,” he said in a quieter tone, the shy youth’s eyes wide with shock at his adamant refusal. “I’m sorry I yelled,” he said soothingly, patting the teen’s hand as Yibo gulped, clearly confused by Xiao Zhan’s vehement reaction.
Yibo clung to his hand, his fingers absentmindedly stroking Xiao Zhan’s skin. “Did I do something wrong?” he asked, his dark eyes concerned.
“No, of course not,” Xiao Zhan assured him. “Stupid, stupid Xiao Zhan! You met the shyest alpha ever, and then you terrify him.”
“I’m sorry, I’m just not feeling well,” Xiao Zhan said as calmly as possible, Yibo relaxing but not letting his hand go. “I’ll be better soon. You should probably go, though. I’m not very good company right now.”
“Oh,” the youth said quietly, hanging his head and biting his lip, finally dropping his hand to the side.
“Fuck!” Xiao Zhan wailed internally.
“Maybe I could order some food for you?” Yibo offered timidly, staring up at Xiao Zhan. “I owe you, Zhan-ge,” he said innocently. “Please? I won’t feel right if I leave you like this. And I,” he looked down again, nervous. “I thought maybe we could hang out? You just seemed really nice.”
Xiao Zhan’s heart sank. Obviously, this alpha didn’t have many friends his own age and had imprinted on him as a mentor. While this was bad for a multitude of reasons that Xiao Zhan didn’t feel nearly sane enough to examine right now, between the scent that was helping calm his nerves that issued from the teen and his sweet determination to help Xiao Zhan, the omega just didn’t have the energy to turn him down.
“Okay,” Xiao Zhan said helplessly. “You can order food. I’m…” he looked down. “I guess I’ll get changed,” he sighed.
Yibo beamed and Xiao Zhan’s heart melted at the large, dark eyes that stared so innocently into his own.
“What do you like, Zhan-ge?” he chirped, and Xiao Zhan shrugged. “Anything is fine, Yibo.”
“Zhan-ge,” Yibo whined, “I want to give you what you need! Anything you want, I’ll give it to you!”
Xiao Zhan coughed on air and the young alpha began thoughtfully rubbing his back with a worried look on his face.
“Fuck,” the omega fretted to himself as he tried to calm the rapid thundering of his heart. "This kid is going to be the death of me.”