Running Out Of Breath

In which things heat up, Part 1

"Dude, you made it this time!"

Josh rolled his eyes, and gave Jesse a hug. "Yeah, I made it. I'm sorry I bailed on you last time, dude."

"It's all good," Jesse said, pulling away and ushering Josh into his house. A fluffy white cat meowed loudly, sidling up to Josh's legs and looking up at him with a mournful expression that was apparently the default expression of Jesse's beloved cat.

"Hey, Crybaby," Josh cooed, crouching down to pick up the cat. Crybaby settled into his arms, purring contentedly.

"I love this cat so much," Josh said, kissing the top of Crybaby's head. "I kind of wish I could have a cat, but the touring."

"Yeah, the cat would barely know you," Jesse said. "Oh well, Crybaby loves you. Just pretend he's your cat too, while you're here."

"Don't mind if I do." Josh made kissy noises at Crybaby, and Jesse snorted, grinning.

"How's Tyler going?" Jesse asked. "You bailed because something was up with him, right? Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine now," Josh said, setting the cat down. Jesse led him to the living room, and the pair settled on the couch.

"He, uh, kind of went into heat," Josh explained. Jesse's eyes went wide – a feat, considering Jesse had the biggest baby blues of anyone Josh knew.

"I thought he was on suppressants or something?" Jesse exclaimed. Josh shrugged.

"He ran out on tour," he explained. "And, uh. I guess it hit him like a ten-ton truck."

Jesse whistled. "Jesus. That would have been rough."

Jesse was one of those omegas that presented very strongly as an alpha, until you got close enough to smell him properly. Like Tyler, he also stuck to continuous suppressants, also having a particularly rough heat.

Josh had never seen him in full heat, though he'd seen Jesse in plenty of half-heats, shuffling around, clutching his bewildered cat like a safety blanket, and grumbling. Heats seemed to make him especially irritable, which Josh found hilarious considering Jesse's usual laidback, sunny demeanour.

"So, you had to take care of Tyler during his heat?" Jesse said, with a wry grin. "Lucky dude."

"Hardly," Josh said, flushing. "Nothing happened. Tyler just thinks of me as a friend, remember. I just kept him hydrated and made sure he didn't die."

Jesse groaned. "You're so disappointing. I don't think he would have minded if you'd, y'know, helped him out. Brojobs, and all that."

Josh flushed an even deeper red. "Shut up. And besides, who knows how he would have felt once he got out of heat, though? It's one thing taking a partner before you go into heat, it's totally different halfway through your heat when you're desperate and not thinking straight."

"True," Jesse said. "And I guess I don't know Tyler well enough to know if he's down with that kind of thing. Still, though. You gotta talk to him."

Josh shook his head firmly. "No. What if it makes things weird? What if he feels awkward? Worse, what if he stops trusting me?"

"Why would he stop trusting you?" Jesse asked incredulously.

"I don't know," Josh said uncomfortably. "How about 'hi, I'm your best friend who is also an alpha and also stupidly in love with you. And you're an omega who gets intense heats where I have to fight with my brain to avoid doing something stupid. But you can totally trust me!'"