Perhaps it was due to being in close proximity with an Alpha for so long, or perhaps it was the stress of his whole situation, but Kaveh's heat has come early.
He knows it the moment he opens his eyes that morning. The silk sheets covering his body are suddenly too rough, and he's far too restless for this hour in the morning. He feels vulnerable, exposed even, and he wishes there were a hole for him to crawl into to hide in for the foreseeable future.
He wishes he could stay in bed, gather his sheets into a little nest and stay cooped up in his room until he rides his heat out. But he knows he can't. It's torture, fighting back his dizziness to change into his regular clothes—which he did not remember to be this itchy—and forcing himself to look at least somewhat presentable.
Though, not everything is horrible this morning. He's more than thankful to find Alhaitham very much not in his bedroom, and he holds his breath as he tries his best to dash through it, hoping to not inhale any of the Alpha's scent, lest it makes him even more woozy.
"Kaveh, darling, are you alright?" Alhaitham's grandmother coos the moment he sits down at the breakfast table, giving him a concerned frown. Kaveh learned some time ago that the Lady was a beta, so it is only natural that she isn't able to immediately pick up on the tell-tale scent of Omega in heat that he was sure permeated the air.
Nonetheless, he doesn't want to concern her, so he clears his throat and gives a bright smile, trying his best to sit up straight as he normally would. "Of course, my Lady. I just didn't sleep very well last night."
"Well, eat up! You're as pale as a sheet, darling." She quips kindly, as she reaches across the table to place another poached egg onto his plate. The gesture fills his heart with warmth, and he sincerely thanks her.
"Ah, there you are." Alhaitham's voice resounds from behind him. Kaveh whirls around in his seat in the direction of the dining room door, his heart suddenly pounding madly in his chest. If the Omega hadn't been looking closely, he'd have missed the way the other man suddenly tenses ever-so-slightly, and Kaveh knows he knows.
As expected of an unmated Alpha like him.
But, to Kaveh's relief, he doesn't comment on it. He simply stays put, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he leans against the doorframe. Keeping his distance. "My prior appointment today was canceled, so I was wondering, Kaveh, would you have time to work on the portrait?"
Of course he has time. That's why he's here in the first place. But he understands the true question hidden underneath Alhaitham's words.
"Does your heat allow for you to work on the portrait?"
Who knew that when push came to shove, Alhaitham could be considerate and tactful. Kaveh finds himself pleasantly surprised, and the smile he gives to the Alpha comes quite easily. "We can get started, and if something comes up, we can continue later."
Alhaitham gives a short nod. "I'll meet you in the garden whenever you're ready."
Kaveh should be more happy that for the first time, they are sitting outside to work on the portrait. Despite the clouds overhead partially dimming what should've been radiant sunshine, there's nothing better than natural light.
He isn't dumb, he knows that Alhaitham doesn't like the bugs that normally come with flower-filled gardens; the sound of buzzing won't let him focus on his reading, and gods forbid something flies in front of his face.
Alhaitham only picked this particular spot because of the fresh air and open environment that would prevent the Omega from suffocating on pheromones and making his preheat fever worse.
But unfortunately, it's not enough in the slightest.
His hands won't stop shaking, and it was making things awfully difficult for him—every stroke has to be redone once, twice, thrice before it is satisfactory. His face burns, distractingly so. His clothes feel like sandpaper on his skin.
'He could ask Alhaitham for help.' Kaveh thinks, 'He probably wouldn't refuse.'
No, he has to at least try to pull through. Tomorrow he'll stay inside his room and rest, away from any Alphas that might make the more primal part of his brain go haywire.
'Despite the rough exterior, Alhaitham is quite kind and considerate. A wonderful mate to raise pups with—'
No. No. Kaveh pushes away the intrusive thoughts brought on by his heat. He shushes his inner Omega nagging him to pounce the virile Alpha sat across from him. No, he is here to paint, and that's what he is going to do. Who knows when he'll have an opportunity like this again.
A pang in his stomach makes Kaveh cringe. Maybe he should tell Alhaitham to go. He can gather references of the plants and flowers here, so today wouldn't be a complete waste—
But the Alpha smells so so good. And he doesn't want him to go. He wants him right here, with him, close by and he never, ever wants to let him go. What he wouldn't give to be held by those strong arms, to bury his face in that well-built chest, to—
He needs to get a hold of himself, immediately. He is more than this. He has enough self-control to get his job done, which is precisely why he is here, to do a job. He isn't here to drool over the thought of his client's cock.
Kaveh swallows thickly and holds his paintbrush tighter, until his knuckles have turned white.
Would Alhaitham stop him if he presented himself to him? It would be wonderful, to be taken right there and right then on the ground. Oh, how good Alhaitham would feel with his knot inside him—
Kaveh suddenly set down his paintbrush on the easel in front of him. He wants to take a deep breath to ground himself, but all that will do is make him more dizzy with the Alpha's intoxicating scent. So instead, he opts for curling his hands into fists and digging his nails into the palm of his hands.
"Kaveh, are you alright?" Fuck, even the Alpha's voice is setting his body on fire.
"I—I can't. Not today. I—" Kaveh takes a deep breath, suddenly unable to talk, "it looks like it's about t-to rain. I'll—I gotta put these back inside."
Without waiting for Alhaitham's reply, he suddenly stands up, barely aware of how he has knocked over the stool he was sitting on. In retrospect, Kaveh wishes he hadn't gotten up so quickly, because the next thing he knows is that his vision has gone dark, he's completely lost balance, and he's about to fall.
Except he doesn't.
Judging by the warmth that is now surrounding him, and the intoxicating smell of Alpha rendering him unable to move, Alhaitham had caught him before he could hit the ground.
Kaveh doesn't open his eyes. He doesn't want to. He simply turns his head until his face is buried into the crook of Alhaitham's neck and takes deep breaths, clinging onto him for dear life. It must hurt, the way he is digging his nails into the Alpha's back like this, but he can't really bring himself to let go. His scent was intoxicating yet soothing, and it helps with the horrible gnawing feeling in the Omega's chest that's been there since he's woken up that morning.
"Thank you. But...you don't have to—" He just barely manages with a soft sigh. Alhaitham says nothing, and only continues to hold Kaveh. And he's thankful for that.
This must be hard on the Alpha too—being so close to a trembling Omega on the verge of their heat and doing nothing about it. Surely Alhaitham is well aware of how defenseless Omegas are when they're like this, powerless to both outside forces and their internal urges. He'll have gone through similar experiences himself with his ruts.
And yet, he makes no move on Kaveh, simply holding him there in his arms.
Oh, Alhaitham could snap him up and Kaveh would be powerless to stop him. The Omega shudders at the thought.
Something cold drops onto Kaveh's scalp, making him shiver. It happens again, and again, and after the third time he lets go of Alhaitham long enough to bring a hand up to touch the spot on his head, only for his fingers to come back wet.
It's only then when he becomes aware of the soft pattering sound of rain falling onto leaves, and he just barely puts two and two together to realize that it was raining. "Ah—"
Each of the little raindrops made his skin burn. A chilly wind blows past them, far too cold against Kaveh's burning skin.
"You're shivering." The Omega can't help but to give a small whine as Alhaitham lets go of him. A moment later Kaveh feels a thick cloak wrap around him. It's still warm from Alhaitham's body, and it smells painfully good.
Kaveh fights the urge to nuzzle his face into one of the lapels brushing against his cheek, despite how he had been—embarrassingly—clinging to the Alpha for dear life mere seconds ago.
Thankfully, he's a bit more coherent now; whatever swept over him a moment ago is now fading away. He takes a deep breath, and another, before finally speaking, trying his utmost to keep the tremble out of his voice. "It's cold. We should go inside."
Alhaitham blinks at him. He looks like he's about to say something, but he must've decided against it. He simply nods, and does not comment on how Kaveh needs a moment to catch his breath every few steps.
The trip back to his bedroom seems to drag on forever, and Kaveh is more than grateful for how the Alpha practically carries him to his bed and sets him down gently, as if the Omega were made of glass and he didn't want him to break.
"If you need anything, you should—" Alhaitham begins, but Kaveh doesn't really want to hear it. Not right now, with all kinds of thoughts swirling uncontrollably through his mind. What if he said something he shouldn't?
"I'm alright." He's not, he really is not, but what could he ask from Alhaitham? Or rather, what else can he ask that wouldn't completely shatter whatever fragile friendship they have managed to forge during his time here? "I'll be just fine."
Kaveh skips dinner that night, telling the maids that he feels far too full from lunch to possibly stomach anything. He knows things will be worse in the morning and he needs his strength, but he ultimately decides against it, knowing anything he'd try to force down his throat would make its way back up in a couple hours anyways.
He spends the night using the last of his strength to make himself a nest with all the spare pillows and blankets he can find on the couches and in the closets of his bedroom. He's almost done, when he spots a familiar cloak sitting at the end of his bed, completely forgotten with the rest of the rain-soaked clothes Kaveh had been wearing earlier that day.
He's almost surprised to learn that the cloak still very much smells of the Alpha. And Kaveh is more grateful for that than he'd like to admit.
After peeking over his shoulder to make sure the door leading to Alhaitham's bedroom was most definitely closed, he clutches the damn thing to his chest. He buries his face into the thick fabric, inhaling deeply.
It smells good—so painfully good.
Oh, how he wished the Alpha were here with him right now. He whimpers at the thought. It felt so nice, being held in his arms. What he wouldn't give—
Kaveh squeezes his eyes shut, willing the thoughts out of his mind. He throws the cloak on top of the small pile of sheets and pillows on his bed, meant to become part of his soon to be nest.
As he predicted, the next morning, his heat finally hits him.
It hits him hard.
He's wrapped up in his little cocoon of pillows and silk sheets, writhing with pain, arousal and heat, useless to do anything about his predicament, defenseless as all he can do is lay there, and wait out his personal hell.
When he was back home, he might've sought out an Alpha to temporarily soothe his pain. Or if he knew his neighbors weren't home, after making sure he'd properly sound-proofed his house, he'd let himself cry out—vocalizing his pain had always helped, even if it was just the illusion of it soothing his agony.
He has no such luxuries here. All he has was this wretched cloak that he clutches to his chest like a lifeline.
Another wave of his heat crashes over him. His body cries out for an Alpha that isn't there—for the Alpha that he knows could be there if he were to just ask—and his heart beats almost painfully against his ribs.
There's an awfully persuasive voice inside him, singing to him to call out to an Alpha, any Alpha, to soothe his pain. Oh, what he wouldn't give to have a knot inside him, an Alpha's knot, Alha—
No. No. Spending so long around the Alpha has tricked his subconscious into thinking that there is a viable mate waiting for him to give the word, when there isn't one.
If he were to call out to Alhaitham, would he come to his rescue?
Kaveh further buries his face into the cloak in his arms. Oh, how nice it would be if Alhaitham would come in here, right now. The Omega can't help but to rub his legs together at the thought, and he's all too aware of the dampness between his thighs.
What would Alhaitham do, if he saw him lying there, helpless and unable to move due to his heat?
He'd surely try to help him. Right? But there was only one way to truly help out an Omega at the mercy of the full brunt of their heat.
His heat is nigh unbearable, and it takes everything in Kaveh's power to not call out for help. His body shudders with each new wave, and he can feel the thin clothes and silk sheets sticking to him from sweat.
Alhaitham would help him, he surely would. He'd sit down on the bed next to him, and slowly pry the cloak from his grasp. He would set it aside, before perhaps bending down to kiss him, deeply. Not sweetly, or tenderly, or lovingly, but with hunger, and the promise of so much more.
Kaveh lets out a little whine at the thought of Alhaitham's touch, failing to suppress the noise despite his best efforts. It's shameful to fantasize about his client-perhaps-friend, he knows it, but he can't help it. The smell of the Alpha's natural scent emanating from the cloak is like a drug, consuming his mind and further dragging him into his fantasy.
Perhaps Alhaitham wouldn't fuck him immediately. Maybe he'd first tease the Omega with feather-light touches of his hands and lips. He'd have him pleading to be touched properly.
Alhaitham wouldn't indulge him immediately. No, no, he'd make sure he was begging—
It's too much. It's all getting far too much. Kaveh can't help but to shove a hand into his pants, and he just barely manages to muffle his moan with his other hand. His touch is nothing compared to what he imagines, what he craves, but it's far better than ignoring his ache any longer.
And even then, he wouldn't completely indulge the Omega either. He'd take his time, running his hands up and down the Omega's body. He'd take his time preparing the Omega, having him cry with only a single finger. He'd scissor him slowly, carefully, telling Kaveh that he must not rush if he didn't want to get himself hurt.
And finally, finally, when he deems the Omega properly prepared, he'd enter him so slowly, that by the time Alhaitham bottoms out, tears are rolling down down Kaveh's cheeks from sheer desperation.
The smell from the cloak is maddening. The scent of Alpha makes him feel like his sanity is slipping away. But he's close, far too close to the edge to even consider stopping now—
But even when Alhaitham would be fully sheathed inside the Omega, he'd refuse to move. He'd stay put, with his cock buried inside him. Kaveh would try and move his hips in an attempt to get something—anything—but then strong hands would hold him in place, leaving finger-shaped bruises on his skin.
Alhaitham would slowly pull out, torturously slow, and once Kaveh had lowered his guard, completely convinced the Alpha was about to exit him for good, with a sharp jerk of his hips, the Alpha would slam into him and straight into the sensitive bundle of nerves inside him, making him see stars.
Kaveh bites down on the cloak in attempt to the soft whines and moans that involuntarily escaped him. His hips jerk erratically into his fist, and tears prickle at the corner of his eyes as the coil in his stomach tightens to an unbearable degree and his orgasm threatens to overtake him.
Alhaitham would finally mercilessly pound into him, not even slowing down just enough for him to catch his breath. He'd fuck him ruthlessly, leaving nothing but a wretched, trembling mess, unable to do anything but to take the Alpha's cock like the good little Omega he is.
The Alpha would come with a loud groan, pumping him full of his seed. And before Kaveh could so much as do anything about this whole mess, the cock still inside him would swell with the Alpha's knot, locking him in place.
He'd be so full, so wonderfully full, absolutely powerless in his Alpha's strong grip—
The Omega cries out as he cums, making a mess of his hand and the sheets around him. He doesn't need to be completely coherent to understand how he has stained the sheets, or how there's slick rolling down his thighs.
But he doesn't really care. He groans at the thought that this was just the beginning.
He's barely come down from his orgasm when he shudders again with another wave of his heat, and he covers his face with the stupid cloak, groaning in frustration—or maybe even shame.
He wishes Alhaitham were really here.
He should toss the cloak away, he really should, but the thought of being without pains him too much. The smell of Alpha was comforting, although it most definitely made everything so much worse. But at the very least, it helps distract him from the fact that he was so terribly alone, despite 'help' being a cry away.
The next three days are an awful, blurry haze that he's quite glad to remember very little of. At some point, Kaveh must've been coherent enough to have the good sense to throw some of his sheets aside and take a shower, because when his heat dissipates and he finally comes to, he finds a couple of sweet-smelling large towels in his nest, and his hair is still a bit damp.
More than anything though, he's surprised to find a bowl of now-cool soup and a half-full glass of room temperature water sitting on his bedside table.
Someone has been taking care of him, making sure that he was well-fed and cared for during his heat. And it isn't hard to guess who it may have been. Kaveh buries his face into his hands and sighs deeply.