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Jayce woke up to the unmistakable scent of Viktor’s distress. The cloud of omega pheromones wafting around the room was so strong that he started to cough, and it was so overwhelming to the senses that at first it was difficult to tell where the scent was coming from. He sniffed the air for a few moments, eyes watering, before slipping out of bed to head for the bathroom.
At the center of the whirlwind of scent, Viktor, in his herald form, was sitting in the bathtub, his glowing eyes the only thing that Jayce could see clearly in the dim room. His knees were pulled up against his chest, though even that didn’t really help him fit— which would have been slightly comical if not for the distress scent coming off him in waves, a little acrid with notes of alpha please help I’m scared.
Jayce flipped on the lights to look at him better. Viktor’s face in this form had no expression, and the golden eyes stared at him with seeming indifference. But Viktor’s body was a different story— pressed into a tight ball as if that could still make him look small. The hexclaw was folded tightly against his spine, like a spooked cat flattening its ears against itself.
”You shouldn’t be here, Jayce,” Viktor said, his voice flat and with that odd mechanical undertone. But Jayce thought he could detect a slight waver in it.
”I just wanted to make sure you’re alright,” Jayce said. “You woke up like this?”
Viktor inclined his head. “I tried to turn myself back, but so far I have not managed it. I think I may simply have to wait.” He pressed his slender hands over his eyes, hiding their glow. “Go back to bed, Jayce,” he said softly. “I know it can be, ah, upsetting, to see me like this.”
Jayce, if he was honest with himself, saw the truth in those words. This form of Viktor’s did send a shiver down his spine even still. But whatever Jayce was suffering, he knew it was much worse for Viktor.
”What about you?” Jayce asked. “God, Viktor, you smell terrified.”
The acrid notes in Viktor’s scent spiked at that. “It will pass… eventually,” he said simply.
Jayce shook his head, then walked toward the tub and laid a hand on Viktor’s shoulder. “Come on, sweetheart,” he said. “You need to get some sleep. I don’t want to leave you alone.”
Viktor shook his head, still stubborn. “Not like this. I fear I might… there is always the chance that…”
”That you’ll do something to me?”Jayce finished.
Viktor nodded.
”I’m not afraid you’ll hurt me,” Jayce said.
”I have already hurt you, Jayce,” Viktor murmured, placing his hands about his neck.
Jayce fell silent for a moment, considering. Then, puffing out his chest, he said pompously “Hurt me? My partner? He’s totally harmless. Far too sweet for that.”
Viktor just stared at him, but something in his body seemed to soften. He huffed something that sounded like a little laugh.
Jayce tugged on Viktor’s arm, now a bit insistent. “Come on, Viktor. I’ll stay here all night if I have to, but I do want to get some sleep.” His tone was still lighthearted, but he added that steely undertone which he knew would have an effect. Listen, omega.
This was what made Viktor finally relent, and he uncurled his gangly limbs and got to his feet. Jayce offered him a hand to get out of the tub, Viktor having to stoop so his head wouldn’t brush the ceiling. Jayce reached over to turn out the lights once Viktor had ducked out of the doorway, but something made Viktor stop in his tracks.
”Jayce, your leg,” Viktor said. He gestured down to where Jayce was obviously keeping his weight off his left leg. “You shouldn’t have gotten out of bed without your brace.”
He seemed ready to bolt again as he said it, but Jayce tugged on his arm to stop him in his tracks. “It’s okay, honey, it’s not your fault,” he soothed. “You can help me back to bed, though,” he said, leaning part of his weight onto Viktor. Viktor tensed like he wanted to retort, but said nothing, probably too tired to keep resisting.
Jayce managed to guide him back to their bedroom, where the strong cloud of pheromones had started to dissipate. He could still detect a hint of Viktor’s upset drifting down from his scent glands, but it was now less pungent, to his relief.
He limped over and got into bed and, noticing Viktor standing next to his own side awkwardly, pulled the omega in with him. It was a tight fit with Viktor like this, and it was difficult for them both to settle into the nest Viktor had constructed with his human self in mind.
Viktor, to avoid crushing his extra arm, was lying on his side, wound into a tight ball as if afraid to be touching Jayce. Despite his efforts, he still took up most of the bed. Seeing this, Jayce opted to wrap himself around Viktor as best he could, and he nudged Viktor’s head against his scent gland. He released his own scent, trying to project an aura of steadiness and sureness. Rest, omega, your alpha will protect you. He didn’t know whether Viktor could smell in this form, but he must have had some way to detect Jayce’s pheromones, and his body lost some of its tension.
“You’re still you, you know,” Jayce said. Although Viktor didn’t reply, he pressed closer to Jayce’s neck.
Jayce wrapped an arm around him and stroked his back, tracing circles from his lower spine up to the base of his third arm. The sensation was a little odd, the skin rigid and textured under his fingers. But he could also feel, somehow, a humming warmth inside Viktor’s shell. He placed his hand on the side of Viktor’s head and turned it to press a kiss on the familiar lips that were split by the herald’s mask. When he felt Viktor finally still, he allowed his breathing to slow and he slept.