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The idea that just any witch could become a Watchful Eye was foolish at best and incredibly dangerous at worst. Watchful Eyes needed to be as reliable as one could be to address any troubles whenever they popped up. And the very moment they popped up.
As such, betas, as the most stable of the secondary genders, were the only designation trusted with this role. And Olruggio, quite obviously, was a beta. He was diligent in his duties. Of course he was. After all, it was Qifrey who was his duty to guard. Qifrey and the apprentices that he took on — still too young to present their secondary genders themselves — with such willingness, Olruggio didn't doubt for a moment that in the eyes of many that would just be a sign of the omega being broody.
To him it was just Qifrey being Qifrey. A caring witch he had known since they were mere youths, since before his facial hair came in and Qifrey's designation first presented itself.
And as such, Olruggio became his Watchful Eye, making sure that no troubles came to the man he loved the most.
Years passed, the life in the Atelier settled into a routine. Olruggio made contraptions that made it so that the roof would never leak and made sure that both pieces of the seal that could instantly dry any rainwater were always near the door, only requiring two pieces of a mat to be shifted to activate instantly. Qifrey kept redrawing the preservation seals on all the pots and made sure the drinking water was never anything but fresh and the spare quill nibs were always perfectly sharp.
Then the apprentices appeared. One by one.
It's not the life others expected for Olruggio, back when everybody was expecting him to present as an alpha any day. It's not the life Olruggio expected for himself either, back in his hometown.
But he liked it. He liked making sure the roof never leaked, and he liked coming home to a fresh meal after a day in the warm sun. He liked the chatter of having the apprentices around.
He liked being a beta because being a beta allowed him to be Qifrey's Watchful Eye.
He liked it even on the rainy nights, when Qifrey would wake him up with frantic knocking against his door, despite the sign he put on it. Of course, he never expected it to really deter Qifrey. He doubted anything could have really deterred Qifrey. He didn't think he quite wanted to deter him either.
Tonight night was no different. Olruggio could sleep through the heaviest rain and harshest storm, but the pounding against his door woke him up better than any spell ever could, it's familiar chaotic pattern trying to drown out the cascading rain echoing against the rooftop with its relentless symphony.
Olruggio didn't hesitate. Not even for a heartbeat. Just jumped off the bed, allowing the room to light up with the soft golden glow the moment his feet touched the tiles, pressing the seals at their undersides together. He opened the door before Qifrey even had the chance to barge in.
His partner, the omega that he's supposed to watch over, looked like he was cursed. His skin was shining from the sweat and his body was shaking with a mix of anxiety and the fever settling in. Even though his scent glands were just beginning to swell up, the scent that hit Olruggio's nostrils was unmistakable.
He was a beta. He shouldn't be sensitive to pheromones the way witches of other designations were, and yet the sickly sweet smell of Qifrey's fresh heat made something in his stomach stir.
It was his duty as the Watchful Eye. Protecting the Atelier. Keeping Qifrey safe. And for a Watchful Eye assigned to watch over an omega, it also meant aiding with the heats before they could attract any unpleasant beings. And so, Olruggio stepped aside, making room in the doorway without a single word. And so, just as quietly, Qifrey stepped inside, closed the door and immediately buried his face in the crook of Olruggio's neck as if he was looking for a scent that wasn't really there.
Olruggio hugged him closer, as if in search of a way to banish the feelings brought on by the rain and the early arrival of his heat.
"Did it come early again, Qifrey?" he asked, feeling the omega relax in his arms at the sound of his voice, even if something about him still retained the lingering tension.
"It feels terrible," Qifrey admitted with a nod, refusing to move his face from its safe spot against the soft flesh of Olruggio's neck, forehead pressing into the rough facial hair.
He rubbed circles into Qifrey's back, the flat of his open hand against the slender build as his other arm remained securely draped around the man's narrow waist.
"I know. I know it does." It was a lie. He didn't. He was just a beta. He would never fully understand all the unpleasantries of going through a heat or a rut, but he knew that Qifrey was hurting right in front of him and he knew that he couldn't have that. It was absolutely enough to know what to say. What to do. "Do you want me to end it for you?"
With a nod, Qifrey's arms wrapped around his back, body pressing against him in the search of comfort. Olruggio felt his breath hitch at the closeness, at the friction, at the smell that shouldn't be affecting him nearly as much as it was.
Maybe it wasn't because it was an omega's scent, he thought. Maybe it was just because it was Qifrey. Maybe because what was between them was more than just a duty, more than just relief from the heat. Olruggio liked to think it was, even if neither of them could ever find the courage that it took to discuss it.
After all, omegas were supposed to bond with alphas and betas were supposed to bond with betas. What happened between witches and their Watchful Eyes was supposed to be just an arrangement. Nothing more. And yet, Qifrey's hands gripped at the back of his robe as if it mattered.
"I need it," he said and then after a tiny break added in a much quieter voice, almost as if he wasn't sure if he wanted Olruggio to hear his words: "And I want you."
Olruggio nodded. "It's my duty, isn't it?"
He picked the omega up and carried him to his bed. Unlike what would have been expected of a proper beta with no need for a nest, he allowed his clothes to line the edges of the mattress, almost as if in expectation of Qifrey's visit, unbothered by the fact that his own sleeping arrangement was getting closer and closer to looking like an omega's nest with each passing heat. Old robes discarded, unwashed to preserve his scent even if there were no alpha pheromones that he could have rubbed off onto the fabric.
He laid Qifrey down and watched him squirm, trying to find a good position for himself among the blankets. And then the rain grew even stronger, thundering against the roof with an unrelenting rhythm. And Qifrey tensed up again, almost as if plagued by a memory Olruggio had no way of knowing.
Olruggio grabbed two rings from what used to be an ashtray when he first bought it, knowing each of the contraptions resting inside it by heart. He pressed the edges of the seal together and with a soft gust of wind and a pale white glow, a force field erupted around them, engulfing them like an orb of transparent light and blocking out all of the sounds.
The rain was no more. At least, as far as Qifrey's senses could tell. And that was enough.
The omega relaxed, his body — still sweat-soaked and fever-ridden — melted into the mattress as the single visible blue eye expectantly followed Olruggio's face.
"Okay, yeah, that's great," he mentioned sheepishly, almost as if the moment of his own panic suddenly became more embarassing than concerning. "So about that other thing…"
Olruggio didn't need to wait for an elaboration. He knew exactly what he needed to do, exactly what his duty was. And so, his hands undid Qifrey's sleeping robes the way they had done so many times before, spreading the fabric apart to see the slender heated-up body and the slick clinging to the omega's spread thighs.
He allowed his hand to sneak lower, watched Qifrey squirm in anticipation as his palm snuck below his abdomen, fingers brushing past his groin and sending a desperate gasp up his throat. Still, he went lower, his fingertips gathering the warm slick, before rubbing against Qifrey's welcoming entrance.
"You really need me?" Olruggio asked again, almost as if there was any need for a confirmation, but the omega just nodded, legs spread, feet desperately pressed into the mattress, hands grabbing at the sheets as he tilted his head back, showing the vulnerable flesh of his throat and the outlines of his scent glands as they began to swell up.
"I want you." Qifrey arched his back, body leaning against Olruggio's hand. And of course that made the restraint inside Olruggio snap.
He was a beta, a Watchful Eye. He wasn't exactly allowed to want it. He was allowed to keep his duty and that was exactly what he was going to do.
Because Qifrey needed it. Because Qifrey wanted him. Because it was his duty.
He pulled his — now slicked-up — fingers back and smeared the thick liquid over his length before pressing against Qifrey's entrance.
"Want me to do that?" He asked then. Once again, unnecessary. He already knew. Qifrey made his need obvious enough time and time again. And yet, he wanted to hear it again. Another confirmation that he was wanted.
"Damn it— Of course," Qifrey finally snapped. Needy and impatient. Desperate. And to that desperation, Olruggio gave in.
He pushed forward, with a smooth movement of his hips, rhythm slow even when he could feel how wet Qifrey's walls were around him. He leaned down to place a kiss against Qifrey's neck, feeling the way his body trembled against him, weeping cock twitching against Olruggio's stomach.
Something in him, a cerain want coiling low in his stomach, made him want to bite. Sink his teeth into Qifrey's scent gland and claim him as if he was an alpha. But he wasn't. He was just a beta. He couldn't properly mark him nor knot him nor give him pups if that was Qifrey's wish. He could only fulfil his duty and that was what he was going to do. And as everything else he did, he was going to do it the best that he could.
"Is that good? Qifrey?"
The omega melted into the mattress, chest rising and falling rapidly as he tried to hold back the moans even if there was no reason to. The sound-proofing contraption Olruggio had made was solid, kept the privacy well. Nights like this were exactly what he had in mind when he was fiddling with the seal.
Qifrey finally let out a strangled moan and with a shiver of his body found his voice, still shaking with pleasure of being filled up. "Of course. Of course. It's always good."
Olruggio nodded, because that was the only thing he could do. Fulfil his duty, keep the promise he made when he agreed to be Qifrey's Watchful Eye. His hips moved slowly, body griding against body, lips caressing the delicate skin of the omega's neck, making him whimper when they pressed against his sensitive scent glands.
"Olruggio, please— You're so good to me…"
Of course. He would always be good for Qifrey, because even if he was just a beta, just a Watchful Eye, there was a feeling. A feeling he held for the longest time. And a feeling he could feel returned even when nothing about Qifrey's words said so.
It was just the actions that did. The way their bodies moved as if they belonged together, the way they cried out each other's names as they came, the way Olruggio remained spent and buried inside Qifrey as if he had a knot.
And then, in the silence of the spell, they laid together, Qifrey's fingers absent-mindedly drawing circles against Olruggio's chest as if there was a spell that could permamently bind them and almost as if that spell was worth breaking more taboos than they had already broken with the feelings they couldn't admit.