Archive of Our Own

Wretched city. 

None of this would have happened if Aventurine had been warned that some of the settings made to improve the dream world have been removed for future upgrades. His app did not make the usual tick-tock noise when a new notification was available. He had just checked into his room as well!

The blonde usually visits Penacony once every three months as a part of his hormone therapy, assigned to him by the IPC. They were, shamefully, deeply familiar with the treatment that he’d gotten from the Amber Lord. To ensure the health of one of their Gems, they’d contacted some of the best specialists in space for their prescriptions and this, apparently, was the best decision. 

His body had remained marked, deeply scarred in the aftermath of the abuse. One of those scars was left upon his heats. Irregular and intense, which could not be controlled by medication and which lasted longer than usual. It took him a long time of trial and error until he finally found a professional, who despite not being an actual doctor, gave him a critical evaluation and specific instructions on how to proceed with his life.

That’s what he was here for.

He’d gotten the luckiest room, on the luckiest floor - simply to avail him from the smidge of a chance of something going wrong. It was the worst time to have the system fail him, the worst time to enter the dream as his body’s reaction was a visceral rebellion against the water. For a second he thought he’d made it and…

Now, he sat folded in two over a bench, in the private space of South Penacony. The dream world was meant to suppress his heat while he was still on the medicine that would bring them back to normal. He’d done everything right - from eating to taking his supplements, abandoning the heat suppressors and even taking off his scent blockers before falling into the warm embrace of the water.

He usually left his phone somewhere far, since even the smallest vibration against him could tick him off immediately. Since he had no way of contacting be it his doctor or someone else from the IPC, even someone as nearby as the family, Aventurine was left with no options.

It hurt. Bad . He could feel the contractions deep in his belly, lips dry but his mouth was watering too fast to swallow. Every fragment of the expensive garments he wore irritated his skin, drenched in sweat with each throb of warmth that passed across his back. He was nauseous and tingly, as his heart throbbed within his chest so hard he could feel it pulse against his spine.

He was wet. Certainly, the second he would stand up, it would leak through his pants, which were just the slightest off-white, and would…

“What are you doing here?”

No, no… no… 

Not that deep, honeyed wine voice which makes the hairs at the back of his neck stand. More slick spills from him, his nausea transforming from an unbearable desire to throw up into the starved, empty shell of a body that craves a touch as intimate as it comes. 

But rationality inside the dream was easier to hold onto for now. Aventurine doesn’t unfold from his position, but he does turn his head to glance through his bangs as Dr. Ratio, his pseudo-doctor, approaches. Unintentionally, his tail begins to wag - the white and golden stripes catching the light. 

“Leave me alone.” He grumbles, and at that, Veritas instantly stops a couple of feet away, “I’m in no mood for your nagging today.”

“Not ten seconds into the conversation and you are already being a nuisance and a boor. It’s truly a wonder how you ever manage to make any ‘friends’ when that attitude of yours shines upon first contact.”

Those words are as effective as any kind of scolding would be on a guilty child. Aventurine’s ears fold and his mouth trembles when he turns away and falls quiet again. He was both upset at himself and at Ratio, although the latter lasted no less than a second. He knew he was being too much right now, yet couldn’t help it. 

It would have been better if he was not approached at all. 

A tusk and a small sigh leave his company. Veritas takes another two deliberate steps before standing in front of Aventurine. Between his fingers, he could see the man’s sandals, following the golden swirls to the blue gem. And the long, fluffy tail of dark blue fur, which brushes the cuff of his pants.

The Nebelung reaches out to touch and Aventurine curls up further, defensive and on edge. Such a position immediately alerts the other and he takes away his hand before they even have the chance to touch.

“Aven—” Ratio says, so close, “What are you doing?”

Of course, Veritas was no idiot and he’d caught the smell coming from Aventurine the moment he walked into his personal space. He could see that in his posture, in the shaky shoulders and the struggling breaths coming from open lips. He did not ask what Aventurine was doing because he didn’t know. It was precisely because Penacony was the worst place to be spending his heat that he was becoming weary of the predicament the blonde was in.

It wouldn’t have been a problem to stay here and endure for a couple of hours until help would eventually arrive. But of course, Dr. Ratio had to show up all in his business again. Ever-vigilant. Ever the intellectual with the worst taste for working partners.

With the cat out of the bag, there was nothing to hide anymore at least.

Aventurine slowly sits back against the bench, jaw clenched when the slick between his thighs begins trickling, soaking him slowly. 

That allows Veritas to scan the other’s body, his nostrils flaring when the much stronger scent of arousal and pheromones wafts in his direction. A sour passionfruit, vanilla and the hint of sweetness that would bring anybody to their knees. He’d smelled that before, in situations that were far more favourable and a lot less public. 

After everything, he was the primary caretaker for Aventurine when he was coming off his heats, ensuring that they wouldn’t be followed by any mock pregnancies or additional complications. He was the one who forced Aventurine to the doctor’s office, sometimes even accompanying him personally. Even if he was overstepping what formal relationship they had together in their privacy, he was at least professional when it came to official matters.

This . Was it official matters inside the dream?  

Considering that they were being watched, strangers walking to and fro, he could consider that their roles were to remain perfunctory. He had to take Aventurine somewhere safe because his distressed state made returning to his body impossible. 

The blonde’s trousers were wet at the front, already soiled with slick. Just the faintest flush was visible spreading across the spade on his chest while his cheeks and nose were already bright pink. His ears are folded backwards, revealing his true feelings, unlike the face he’s pulling.

Ratio’s fists squeeze at his side. This embarrassing expression of Aventurine, which borders on erotic suggestion, had a bigger grasp on his mentality than he thought it would. He wanted to slide into the other’s lap and look better. Deeper into the mesmerizing hypnosis of the Segonian eyes that promised sweet release. 

Choking back a groan, Veritas takes a slow breath away from Aventurine and sighs deeply to clear his head. He cannot leave the man here in the middle of nowhere, but he can’t also be seen taking him inside a love hotel or a hospital. He didn’t want to entrust Aventurine’s safety to anybody else’s cold and distanced touch. 

Deep inside he knew, it was because for the last couple of years in their working relationship, he may have grown to feel something more for the tiger. Something he couldn’t put into words, for he was still struggling to understand it himself.

“Get up.” He commands, deciding before rationality kicks in. 

Aventurine’s brows furrow, tail lashing. He didn’t like the tone and he did not like the words that left Ratio’s mouth. Unfortunately for him, the following touch - a grab of the wrist that hauls him into a hard chest, is something he cannot fight. 

Each brush of skin against skin is fire, pleasure, sending electricity down his spine and into his tailbone. Aventurine makes a small sound at the back of his throat, unable to decide if he wants to push closer or pull away. 

Thankfully, he’s not left to think on his own for long. Dr. Ratio pulls him along the smaller, less-populated streets. The rubbing of his thighs, and the grind of slick fabric against his most sensitive spots, are both uncomfortable and titillating. Aventurine chokes on the moan that spills from his lips, stumbling into Ratio’s back when he suddenly stops to look at the feline. 

A couple of smoking workers turn to look at them just as Dr. Ratio pulls him into a nook between two plants and slams his hands on either side of the blonde’s head. 

“Do you have no self-control anymore? You want all of Penacony to hear the sounds you’re making?”

Bracketed in the intimate cage of Veritas’ arms, Aventurine blinks slowly, the words registering but no response coming in turn. He did not, at all, want all of Penacony to know, which was the problem. His coat and Ratio’s body hiding what was happening in his pants were enough to get them so far. For those same aforementioned reasons, Aventurine had regressed further, turning into a shivering fawn that barely kept its balance. 

His head span wildly and his eyes became misty. Brushing them away with the heel of his glove resulted in more tears pooling over his eyelashes. All he wanted was a break. He wanted an escape from his real body’s natural call in a place that usually disallowed both heats and ruts. 

Why? Why, why was this happening to him? Why was the system broken now?

His sharp breaths slowly turn to hiccups. Veritas, who was looking out for any passers-by, hears the troubled sounds and glances down. Finding on the pretty, flushed face a dozen or so teardrops. Shimmering against the perfect skin, they slide over heated cheeks and off a sharp jawline and fall over Aventurine’s hands. 

They linger in the air as he sobs, staring into something invisible behind the blue-haired man. 

“I’m… sorry…”

Ratio’s stomach curls into a ball, heavy as lead and tight as a clenched jaw. There are a few things he cannot bear to look at. Idiots, running in circles. Geniuses with egos too far up their bums to see the core of a very obvious problem. Gaggles of women gossiping.

Aventurine crying.

“What for?” His hands automatically rise to cup the wet cheeks, tone softening significantly, “You’ve done nothing wrong. Not too in control, are you? I suppose it’s logical that you can’t keep it in too well. You’ve done so well so far, so be patient a little more.”

As the deep purple gaze drifts upwards to look at him, Dr. Ratio does something he’d rarely allowed himself in public before. He leaned in. 

Aventurine’s forehead was sweaty and tasted of the natural salt skin produced, bangs sticking to it. Dr. Ratio brushes them away and hushes the shivering man quietly. The kiss he presses to the forehead, hot as coal, is gentle and firm. Meant to soothe and to ground the reeling thoughts within Aventurine’s head, with the purr that sounds from Ratio.

It lingers. His lips against the other’s skin, the grasp of unsteady fingers holding onto his sleeve. The affection they share, which has never slipped the formally excused convenience of spending heat or rut together, now envelops the blonde. 

His pupils dilate, but the tears cease. Just for a second, he sinks into that feeling and hiccups as a calming scent of cedar, pink pepper and blackcurrant spills from Dr. Ratio’s glands. Pheromones, which Aventurine had not felt as strongly before stick to his skin, sweet like sin.

The ache in his lower belly subsides and it feels easier to speak once they part. 

“You’re…”

“Almost there. Can you walk?” Veritas checks on him, interlacing their fingers together when he turns and retakes the lead. 

Aventurine doesn’t respond. He simply follows.

Whisked away into an apartment building in Eastern Penacony, where everything was stylish and clean. Quiet, he notices, when they enter the well-ventilated ground floor. There’s only one man at the front desk, but at the sight of Dr. Ratio and Aventurine, he sits back down. The gambler had never been brought here, yet it felt like Veritas was more than familiar - navigating them through the maze of corridors. 

There’s light music. In the elevator they walk into, big enough to fit at least twenty more people, light jazzy strings are being plucked. Aventurine’s eyes dart down to the hand still holding onto his and the music disappears in the background as his heart begins pounding. 

When they slept with Ratio before, it was only the tail end of his heat, when he cared enough to seek out pleasure without being delirious with it. It was testing the effectiveness of his heats as much as it was precautionary actions for any unforeseen after-effects of the new suppressors. They’d agreed that too much attention was going to get the others imagining things. Possibilities. Gossip.

So they also never met outside of work. They never ate together. They never spoke or as much as looked at each other in an attempt to avoid unnecessary contact. It was as much to protect Veritas from the Segonian charm, as it was for Aventurine to forget about the wine and gold eyes, which stripped him bare within the intimacy of their bedroom.

Their . In the end, things were theirs to share, right? The heats. The ruts. The pleasure. The looks, the room, the flirtatious touches and the delicious arguments which wound the two men high enough to fall into bed - biting and begging for more, fighting for dominance and taking it from the other in equal turns. Sometimes he would be the one pinning Veritas down, taking his pleasure and other times he would be bent over the mattress, hair twisted away from his face.

The mere thoughts of their past copulations make him squirm. He burns to feel him inside again, burns to allow Veritas freedom and trust.

Ratio unlocks the room to his private apartment in the Golden Hour and looks back at Aventurine, mouth open in a request that never arrives. Whatever he saw on the other’s face was confirmation enough. 

The gambler enters a spacious entree with tile floors and wooden walls, painted a coffee cream colour. There are plants in the hallway and bulbous lamps hanging overhead. Aventurine was on his way to walk inside before he almost stumbled into Dr. Ratio again. He didn’t even see the slightly elevated threshold before it was too late.

“Sorry…”

“Stop apologising.”

That intelligent man pushes Aventurine against the wall for support and lifts one of his legs to slip off his shoe. Just the tiniest brush against his ankle makes the blonde arch, feeling a glop of slick spill from his tingling holes. With his leg raised, he’s certain the doctor can see how the cloth stuck to his puffy lips, outlining them in a way that left little to the imagination.

Unable to process what was happening, how fast it was happening, the honey tiger pressed the heel of his hand against his lips, fighting the moan that was insistently rising in pitch at the back of his throat.

Even then, Dr. Ratio looks up at him, only at his face and nowhere else, when he sets the foot down and then offers his hand. 

Aventurine’s sight is hazy. The wall behind him feels cool so he reclines further, trying to dampen the fire licking at his back. To ground himself into something that he knew wasn’t going to move. Because Veritas’ insistent look was about to sweep the floor from beneath his feet and Aven, unable to rationalise, was afraid he was going to fall.

“Come on, darling. Give me the other.” Ratio eggs, “You don’t want us to stay here all day, do you?”

All that his head was cycling around was finding the bed and curling on it. Of course, Aventurine didn’t want to stay in the entree, as enticing as the look of Ratio on his knees was. The blonde lifts his foot, offering it to the other to strip with the same slow, meticulous motions. 

Even through the thin socks, he could feel Ratio’s big hands skimming under the pant cuff, drawing his thumb high enough to touch skin. The sound that escapes Aventurine is humiliating, breathy and loud . Veritas stands, tracing the plump thighs with his hands, squeezing just below Aventurine’s hip bone. A promise as much as a threat.

“Go to bed, little peacock. You don’t need to hold back any longer.”

The colour of Ratio’s eyes is terrifyingly erotic, lined up with that well-known cocky smile of someone who knows they’ve gotten the upper hand. Aventurine is sweating and that alone intensifies the uncontrollable release of pheromones that’s muddling Veritas’ head.

Released, finally, Aventurine gasps a breath he didn’t know he was holding and scrambles to explore. As spacious as the place was, this was a one-person apartment and possessed nothing but a bathroom, a walk-in kitchen and a living room, beyond which was a single bedroom. 

He needed a nest. Needed Veritas all over him, scenting him and the purr that judders in his chest right now is not just due to the heat.
A pretty nest for his mate, one to lie in and to cover in soft blankets that would not irritate his skin. One he could be protected in, one to safely spend his heat in.

Sheets smelling of laundry detergent, and flowers in the vase at the coffee table by the terrace. Fresh air, quiet neighbourhood and a desire so strong it felt like a physical kick, catch on Aventurine’s nerves when he stumbles into the bed and shakily pulls his shirt out of his pants. 

He unbuttons his waistcoat with shaky fingers, and tears off his gloves for how difficult they were making unbuckling his belt. 

Dr. Ratio walks into the room just as the omega has brought all the silk sheets and blankets to the bed, leaving some cotton and heavier nylon quilts on the floor in front of the wardrobe. He’d wrought the king-sized beg in them, spread out all twelve pillows. Veritas was not due his rut for another two weeks now, but he could already sense the telltale signs of a mock rut rising. 

At least that’s how he decided to explain why the sight of Aventurine making a nest in his bed made him feel so… happy. Proud? Delighted. It was simply a natural reaction to his more base instincts to a virile omega displaying his willingness to mate.

Aventurine had begun stripping his shirt like any other T-shirt, instead of unbuttoning it - for the sake of speed. That’s how he finds himself stuck. It’s caught on his earring and his arms are still in the cuff of the sleeves. All tangled up with his hands over his head, the blonde rolls over on his stomach and begins backing up in an attempt to escape. His pants are halfway down, revealing most of the delicious curve of his backside and the tail that thrashes wildly in frustration.

Sanity be with me , Dr. Ratio thought.

Aventurine whines.

It’s dark and his face feels so much hotter in the confinement of the cloth. His pants were partially discarded, leaving only the white, satin underwear soaked with his slick. There’s a visible darker patch over his crotch, thrust almost into Dr. Ratio’s face when he approaches. 

“Veritas! Veritas… Veritas .” He complains, sensing the other’s presence but unable to see him. Aventurine feels nothing but shame and desire when he hears the other heeding the little cries, a dip in the bed causing him to still in wait.

Strong arms catch his hips, pulling him underneath a heavy set of legs. Dr. Ratio pins Aventurine down against the mattress and proceeds to finger the top two buttons of his shirt, pushing it over his head before helping any further with the cuffs.

This gambler’s golden tiger ears flick back to listen to Ratio’s breathing, seeking any reaction that would hint he’s dissatisfied with how slow he’d stripped. On the contrary, the nebelung cat’s purrs are low, but audible, showing that he was satisfied to be of service. 

“I’ve never seen anybody so stupid during their heat.” He observes. There’s no bite in his words when he finally flips Aventurine over on his back, staring down at the tiger with calculating eyes. 

Their legs are tangled and Aventurine’s arms are easily pinned over his head by one hand. Wrists crossed - the touch against his veins tingling like fizz. Every time Veritas touched him was beautiful. It brought ecstasy. Peace. Aventurine wanted more, deep into the throes of his heat now that he was somewhere far from the public eye. 

And Dr. Ratio knew it by the hazy look, the half-lidded eyes which make Aventurine’s pupils look like hearts. That was the famous seductive look this gambler threw across tables and towards his potential victims - alluring and promising a good time. 

If he hadn’t been on the other side of those tables, or if Aventurine wasn’t currently thinking only about how to use his body, Ratio might have been fooled by the softness that lingered beneath. He’d take it as reciprocation.

“Do you carry protection with you?” He asks, discarding his golden wreath. This might be the only time he'd be amenable to dropping it off the side of the bed together with his shirt.  

The answer is obvious, yet he asks anyway. Because it feels awkward to have to look at Aventurine, who is so out of it he looks like he might not even be here mentally. 

“No need.” The blonde purrs, tail curling around their calves, “ If you use a condom, I won’t feel all of you. I want to make you feel good, too. I want your hot cock inside me, stuffing me until I’m—”

Placing a hand over the feline’s mouth, Dr. Ratio fights with the heat that’s crawling up his face at the mere thought of what the following words may have been, “There is a need. We’re not having heedless sex just because you’re in heat. If I stick it in this early, you’re going to ovulate and…”

The wide-eyed, shiny look that Aventurine gives him speaks of him desiring exactly that. 

“Pweath.” He speaks under his palm.

The Doctor removes his hand and asserts again, “I am not getting you pregnant.”

Usually, mating cycles between felines such as them are easier to avoid if there is no external stimulation, passing in three or four days. But the entering of heat was unavoidable still and that’s what could have gotten Aventurine in real trouble if Ratio hadn’t found him. Once reciprocated, a mate would be chosen and then the heat becomes more intense. Pregnancy becomes a certainty.

Just the thought of someone else catching a whiff of his delectable scent and taking him would be driving Ratio insane, were Aventurine not safe in his hands...

The pout that appears on the soft, wet lips when Veritas removes his hand, is a threat to the dreamverse. The Nebelung almost choked to death on the idea that Aventurine was upset hearing that answer. Did he somehow manage to say something truly upsetting? 

It could be hormones talking, but then again, that is when most people would be bitterly honest.

Would Aventurine care about being bred by Ratio? Was that something that he would want even when he was not pouring out his pheromones like wild, struggling to entice Veritas into doing something both of them could regret? 

He concentrates on the feeling of Aventurine’s heated skin beneath his fingers, tracing a pattern of no particular shape with his thumb against the other’s cheek.

“You don’t mean it, do you?” He asks because he’s going stupid too. He must be if it takes no less than five minutes in a room with Aventurine to make Ratio think of giving him what he desires.

Of forming a bond with the Avgin.

It was only right, wasn’t it? Since he’d harboured so much affection, he’d tended to him, and has been healing him - body and soul. Why shouldn’t Aventurine be his? He was the perfect mate, his perfect peacock.

The purple and magenta eyes hood over and just the smallest line of moisture appears beneath the golden lashes. Before Dr. Ratio could say anything further about his sudden decision, Aventurine covers his face in the fold of his elbow and speaks with a thick, stuttering voice. 

“Whatever. It’s not like I care about it. I knew it would be one-sided the moment we first met. You’re cruel, Veritas, you’re nothing.”

The scent which radiates from the gambler says the opposite. It was sour and upsetting, making the hairs on the other feline’s tail bristle in displeasure. He begins sitting up as if about to leave the bed, but Dr. Ratio is quicker and holds him down.

This is such a sweet pain. Wanted so bad he’s being denied. Even if he technically knew this was just another attempt at tactful manipulation, mind games that would get him to do the opposite of what Aventurine was asking, Ratio felt within his heart a pang of pain. He didn’t even think of arguing against those harsh words because his heart was soaring, ecstatic.

“Come here,” He says and reaches out to scoop Aventurine into his embrace. 

The omega pushes his hands away initially, opening his teary eyes to growl a low threat, “Don’t touch me. I don’t want you anymore. I’ll find someone who loves me enough to give me a litter. I’m leaving.”

Despite the words, when Veritas reaches out again, Aventurine does not struggle. He gets pulled into a tight embrace, skin to skin and he cannot help but groan so low and deep it resonates like a purr inside Ratio’s chest. Their tails curl around each other, rubbing back and forth affectionately. 

“Nonsense. I do, I reciprocate. My mate, my little peacock. You're still so good to me, even when I’m undeserving.”

Deprived and overwhelmed all of a sudden, Aventurine’s grasp on Veritas’ shoulders tightens and he brings his face so close to the glands beneath the doctor’s ear he could taste the response of his body. It’s sweet, Dr. Ratio’s scent. Like elderflower and lemongrass now, old paper and running water. There’s something calming about how his weight isn’t put off Aven’s body. He feels like he’s being crushed. 

Like all the fragments of his body and mind were being pressed together, packed so tightly he could not break even if he wanted to. That’s how it always felt with Ratio. Hot skin and hot breath. A mouth under his jaw teeth only scraping to get Aventurine going. Except this time when Dr. Ratio presses his lips to the throbbing vein on the gambler’s throat - it has an electrifying reaction.

Aventurine can feel the way his hardness is pressed between their stomachs too, sending sweet delight at the smallest of movements. He was so slick it was dripping into the sheets, both holes weeping to be pounded until he was full of nothing but his Veritas… His Alpha.

His tail bristles, turning twice its usual size and trembling as he realises that this is the way Dr. Ratio is planning to establish his dominance this time. Slowly, softly, caring despite the desperate need that’s kept Aventurine hard and leaking for many unspeakably long minutes. 

Biting and tail-twisting was a usual mating tactic to see who was going to be grooming the other pre-coitus - where the messier meant all the better for the winning side. Thankfully, Veritas’ tail, being long and fluffy, with hairs of a dark blue tint meant they were barely ruffled by the time he pulled away from Aventurine to look down. 

Their foreheads touch when Ratio slips his hand into Aventurine’s underpants, swiping his long fingers through the mess. The blond looks down as well, trembling when the hand comes across his clit.

“You’re so ridiculously wet,” Ratio’s finger comes off his flushed bud sticky, stringing slick between his fingers. Just the sight of Aventurine’s body - prepared and lubed up naturally, all from just the smallest touches, leaves Ratio needing too. He isn’t thinking when he takes the Avgin’s sweetness to his mouth, licking his fingers clean. Sweet and fresh, a little tangy, but it was the best thing he’s ever put in his mouth.

It’s a lost cause. Ratio knew he was going to lose the battle, after taking this stray off the street and into his home, letting him scent and nest all he wanted, crying for the knot and his barbed cock as if he’d lost all rime or reason. 

Never the one to be out of control, Veritas can see within the feline a dreg of fear and uncertainty - the last filaments of them as his heat-fried brain is reeling to seek comfort during his time of need.

“You—” Aventurine begins, purple and electric blue eyes never leaving the wet fingers which come out of Ratio’s mouth.

Dark blue ears flick up, rounded and pointed towards the cat. Those wine and gold eyes follow the way he licks his lips, gazing so deep into Aventurine, he’d feel weak-kneed if he were standing. Ratio doesn’t wait for him to muster up the courage to repeat the mumbled words. Instead, he grabs Aventurine’s pants and tears them off his legs impatiently. They drop to the floor in a heap. 

Left in just his black underwear and socks, Aventurine is a sight to behold. Flushed from head to toe, miles of clean, pale skin, toned muscle shining with sweat. The scent of honey is so thick in the air Veritas can taste it. 

“What do you want?” He asks, twisting his thumbs into the dark fabric. Just tracing the skin beneath even when Aventurine is so hard and wet they were barely of any use to contain it. 

His mouth opens wide and he descends upon the feline’s right breast, trying to take as much as he could in his mouth in an expression of possessiveness. ‘I control this ’ it says, though the tracks of teeth he leaves behind, the mess of spit and then - the nip to Aventurine’s nipple, is meant to be a promise.

The man arches, shivering all over in response, offering more, bearing himself to the mate that’s busying himself to mark him with kisses all over. 

A single droplet of precum spills from the crimson tip onto the feline’s stomach and he preens at how warm Ratio’s cock is when it brushes lower on his stomach. He delighted at the feeling of how incredibly wet he was, being good for his mate, being soft and sweet and desirable enough to get such a strong reaction out of him. Ratio’s pheromones are deepening, turning spicy and alluring, even oppressive, because they make Aventurine want to roll over on his knees and present himself. 

The thought of how he ached inside, how his gut twisted and burned and how pleasure and pain, both coming from the same source, made Aventurine lose track of his movements. 

He grabs Dr. Ratio’s head and sits up. 

“Ah–!?” Blood spills down Ratio’s chin from the vicious, punishing bite. His lower lip torn from Aventurine’s ministrations stings when the blond drags his tongue over it, drinking up blood mixed in with saliva and sealing the cut with a gentle kiss. His palms cup Ratio’s cheeks, fingers playing with the hair that is framing his face. 

He sounds ruined once he speaks, so close to the doctor’s mouth he could feel they’re breathing each other’s air almost straight from their lips.

“Mn, please… Please, Veritas, breed me. Take me, take me, take me and let it catch. I want to be round with your kittens,” He purrs, pausing to kiss him deeply and they move - both reclining with Veritas on top while Aventurine was the one controlling the kiss, taking that which he lusted for, “I want to be pampered, I want to be loved. Love me, will you? Nobody ever does, but you…”

“Aven,” The dark-haired man hushes him, kissing back and taking Aventurine’s chin in the pinch of his hand, so he could keep him still as he finally caved in, “Okay, I will.” Another kiss, gentle and simple, to seal those words into the flushed skin of his right cheek, “I will love you. I will take you as mine.”

What is he saying? 

“I will breed you so good you’re going to be bedridden for days.” Comes out of his mouth, pinning Aventurine and tearing off his panties until he’s barren in his entirety, “And when you begin showing signs, I’m going to take care of you. I’ll feed you and nourish you, the litter and I’m going to take responsibility for you since you want it so bad. I’m going to come for you when this is over and I’m going to take your physical body too.”

“YES! PLEASE~!” Aventurine warbles once Ratio finally does good on his promise and traces the soft petals of his desire, so slick they’re making a mess in his silken sheets. The spot beneath Aventurine’s ass grows wetter when Ratio slips two fingers inside him, stretching and repetitively scissoring what little resistance Aventurine’s body answers with. 

Aven shuts his eyes, twisting into the pillow to bite it. His teeth ached with the pleasure that coursed through his veins, finally finding that filling sensation he’d been thirsting for. What a good mate Ratio was, when he finally slots his mouth to the engorged clit and sucks. 

And how Aventurine throbs, squeezing the fingers that curve and press against his sweet spot, when the pleasure mounts and he’s cumming without a warning, left to quietly groan into the pillow as he shivers down his high. 

Oversensitive, lightheaded. All his blood rushes between his thighs and Ratio is merciless in his devouring. He takes his rough tongue and scrapes it between his lover’s folds, cleaning him thoroughly while his digits keep creating a perpetual mess. 

He even goes on his knees, taking  Aventurine’s limp body up and resting his ass against his chest just so he could enjoy eating him out properly - tongue stuck so deep inside him Aventurine chokes. 

It’s too much , he thinks when he takes a finger into his other hole and feels it squelch filthily, spread open and massaged until his toes are curling and his thighs clamp around the Nebelung’s head. He’s not yet off his second orgasm when a third approaches, with Dr. Ratio steering him so easily off the edge at the flick of a thumb. 

Ah, yet it’s not enough. Too much and not enough at the same time, he begins struggling. Hoarse though it was, his plea reaches Ratio’s ears. He slows but doesn’t stop cleaning Aventurine after his third rapture, eyes so dark and wide-pupilled it made him look on the verge of insanity. And the picture of Ratio between his thighs, inhaling his scent and sucking on his lips - that could have been another end for Aventurine if he didn’t stop it. 

“Please, inside . I want you inside.”

“I am inside,” He punctuates his words, fitting three whole fingers inside Aventurine’s loose cunt. The angle isn’t right, but that matters little when he’s so stretched out, he can see the push of all those digits doing something to his stomach. 

Something Veritas’ cock could do better. 

“Alpha,” Aven cries, reaching out for him, “Breed me, please. I want to cum on your cock. Am I not a good Omega for you? Haven’t you had enough?”

“I can never have enough of your sweetness, little peacock.”

He’s gotten high off the taste. Ratio knew that the Avgin people were blessed by an Aeon to be Omega manipulators. Looks, voice, taste, spirit - it was all the careful machinations of a deity that wanted to create a weapon against all Alphas. It should have been scientifically proven that all Avgin were made of the material, whatever it was, that would ultimately lead to the fall of all. 

And that is how, easily and with their mouths hungrily pressed together, Veritas falls into Aventurine. Their legs tangle as they move into a more comfortable position - Ratio on his knees and Aven lying on his side, one leg between the dark-haired man’s and the other one hooked around his thigh. 

The blonde whimpers, shivering as he feels the barbed head slide between his lips, teasing him so sweetly. He aches, and keens breathlessly, feeling each curve, bump and vein fit inside him like a glove, as if he was made to fit him perfectly, a mould that could warm and encompass and swallow Ratio up deliciously. He might as well do, because now in the depths of his heat, he’s becoming less sentient to outer stimuli and feels the swelling of his glands, chest becoming tender even when Ratio presses a hand against his breast, simply to hold him down. 

Aventurine is so open and wet Dr. Ratio slides right in. It’s not in a single push, for both of them are eager and too pent-up to be capable of such. The blonde is tense, his insides clenching and hungrily holding onto the other as if he was going to change his mind any second and pull out. 

What a good mate Ratio was, how well he cared for Aventurine already and how sweetly he grit his teeth, holding onto the heated, sweaty skin to keep him still and obedient. The honey tiger’s fur stands on end, arching his back as much as he could in that position. 

He was so excited he could perish on the spot, so full and the mix of their scents lingering all over his body. Their nest reeked of pheromones, soaked into pillows and sheets. It felt good. How safe he was, finally escaped from the lonesome trials that spending his heats all alone brought. He had nobody to turn to from the IPC, no doctor who could give him reprieve from the desire, no substance to abuse, no lover whose hand he could hold.

Except Veritas. He was there and held his hand now, he was looking and Aventurine, perhaps for the first time in many lonesome years, felt seen . 

And how Aventurine loved him. Even when they argued, he would turn at any moment and soothe his ruffled fur. He would think only the best for him even if his words often mismatched his actions. Despite their differences, their races, and their beliefs - Ratio cared for Aventurine as Aventurine cared for Ratio.

“Little peacock,” Veritas whispers, pausing his hips, “Why do you cry?”

Oh. 

Crying. 

The honey tiger blinks his eyes open, gazing at the handsome face with a worried expression, whose pale features are surrounded by many damp locks of perfect navy hair. Of course, he would be crying, because he felt so soft for his partner now, so fragile he could break apart. 

“No— M’not.” He argues, but there’s no hiding after all. 

Veritas takes Aventurine’s leg off his shoulder, folding it around his waist instead so he can lean over his face. The blonde closes his eyes, tail trembling when Ratio’s wraps his around it. He’s kissed again. A kiss to his lips, and at both corners. One on each cheek, which traces up to his temple and down to his eyelids. 

A tiny sob of delight leaves his mouth when his body relaxes and he feels the flaring of the penile bumps brushing against his cervix in one final thrust. 

They were complete. Whole, slotted so snugly together there was not even space for air between them. Both were slicked with sweat, shivering and breathing in the throes of a passion they could not bear to turn away from. Aventurine was flushed so deep the colour bled across his throat and over his chest. 

“I love you,” He finally blurts out, seconds after Ratio begins moving. His hips rock in slow undulations like waves crashing against the shore, and Aven feels like he’s a heated rock, being caressed by crisp pleasure. “I love you. I love you~”

His lips part, gasping, “Aeons, just like that. Ah, Veritas… Veri– MMn!”

Each bump of Ratio’s hips against his own means he’s brushing against his every nerve, bouncing the pliant body which always rebounds and returns eagerly for more.

This time he’s the one getting bitten. He feels Ratio’s teeth at his tongue, sucking it into his mouth as he spreads his legs wider, thrusting into Aventurine at an angle that makes him see sparks. Electric pleasure sizzles up his spine, coiling fire in the pit of his stomach that’s already more than familiar. 

The blonde is so close and he desperately whines between their deep kisses, “More, hnn– Ah, Veritas, harder. Harder, please. Aeons, Veritas~!”

“I know, I know. Good boy, taking me so well. You’re the sweetest little peacock, so loud. So loved.”

Aventurine is turned to his stomach suddenly and forced onto his knees. Ratio doesn’t even pull out when he mounts him again, this time with more purpose. Viscous slick spills between the tiger’s thighs and sometimes dribbles straight from his hole. His messy tail flicks side to side excitedly, mostly led by the contractions that prelude his fourth orgasm for the day.

He’s being pounded into the pillows at his head like their lives depend on it until he’s so wrung up with sizzling pleasure he can do nothing but whimper and shudder apart. 

He cums, squeezing so hard it hurts to feel Ratio’s movements stutter. This time his slick is torrential, pitter-pattering in the growing wet spot between his knees and soaking him completely. It felt like he was sprung out like a rag, held firmly against the slowly rutting hips until he was sobbing from the overwhelming sensation. 

“That good?” Veritas brushes some hair away from his face, folding over the chittering tiger to press soothing kisses to his wet cheeks, “You squirted all over me, Aven. I’m soaked.”

“I didn’t—” He sobs pitifully, squeezing the covers in front of himself. His nickname was murmured so warmly against his ear it made him cry even harder, “I— didn’t know… I could do… that.”

“You can do it for me again, can’t you?”

“A break… A little break.” He begs, but Ratio can’t, or doesn’t want to listen to him when his face is already buried in the pillows.

Ratio marvels at the way Aventurine looks on his cock, spread open around his root and puffy, slick, warming him so well. He has half a mind to let his sweet omega do just that when he notices how his hips fit in his arms. Aventurine is limp and soft again and doesn’t put up any struggle when Ratio rocks his entire body into the hips that promise the greatest joy of life. 

It’s not enough. Cumming again was not enough and he’s burning alive again, panting with his tongue lolling out because there’s never enough air getting to his brain.

It feels so good. He’s being bred so well.

Veritas. Veritas. Veritas. Veritas—

He can feel Ratio’s close, by his ragged breathing and the noises he’s beginning to make. Something between whimpering and begging, though it’s hard to figure out what words he was exactly saying, even when whispered between his shoulder blades. 

It sounds like his name, an echo of the way Aventurine is begging for him and his quickly forming knot.

Their flesh meets, brutal and rough and in the true spirit of breeding animals, Aventurine yowls when the mouth kissing up his spine just a moment ago opens wide. He’s bitten. Teeth bunch and gnaw into his flesh, canines holding the back of his neck in their hold as Ratio’s barbs tease Aven’s sensitive cervix open. He’s going to be marked, inside and out, and that idea is enough to make his eyes tear up again.

“What a good boy,” Ratio purrs again, licking the blood from his teeth. This time he speaks more clearly as he reaches for the hands Aventurine has fisted into the pillows to hold, “Cum again. Do it again for me, sweet boy.”

The blonde’s tiger ears fold back flat against his head.

Good boy. A good boy, a good—

And open it does, as what little discomfort from the intrusive tip he had felt, was wiped clean by the fingers toying with Aventurine’s clit. He hiccups, exhausted but eager when he feels the first shot of hot cum deep inside his belly. Ratio’s teeth burned where he’d bitten him, irritating the gland just below his hairline and causing it to release a different type of scent. 

That of a mated, very happy omega.

As the barbs spear him open the knot makes it impossible for even a drop to spill outside. Aventurine preens, feeling Ratio’s content sigh as he manoeuvres them to lay side by side. 

The loss of their previous game had an immediate effect after that. Aventurine feels the coarse tongue of his lover drag over his ears, licking and tending to his fur, moving down on the side of his face until he’s kissing his shoulder. Every once in a while their jostling - be it from Veritas trying to press even closer or Aventurine trying to turn around to look at his mate - they would find themselves ensnared with the instinct to never pull apart. 

Only once the knot deflates and the engorged organ softens, does Ratio naturally slide out of Aventurine’s abused hole, leaving behind a string of cum to connect them. The second his cock disappears, the tiger feels an embarrassing but comforting type of flow inside him, gushing out between his closed thighs in the cup that shapes between them. He lays on his stomach, resting his head on his arms.

He’s too tired to react now, lying prone, as the wave of his heat passes and he’s all but content to scent and rub his body all over their sheets. But he’s beginning to feel empty again. From that Aventurine gives a long, sad whimper, reaching back and between his thighs to stuff Ratio’s cum back inside. 

Instead, he finds the Nebelung is already there, finally done with licking all over his tail and back to latch his hungry mouth to the blonde’s petals again, face buried in his behind. Though tired, this type of service is welcome to him, thus Aventurine very willingly opens his legs again. 

After all, being cleaned by his mate was an honour as much as it was a pleasure. 

His fingers card through the other’s hair, feeling his eyelids heavy. So heavy, that the pleasure of Ratio’s tongue slipping inside his hole brings with itself only the distant buzz of joy that accompanies falling into a comfortable slumber.

————————————

When Aventurine wakes up again, he’s on a fresh set of sheets. His afternoon nap and his lingering heat continues to make him sweat, but the cool breeze crawling through the window is delightful against his bare back. Time might pass differently in Penacony, but his body can clearly feel that around this time it should be late afternoon in Reality. 

The sheets are pulled up to his waist, covering up most of him while Dr. Ratio slept covered chin to toe in a quilt. He’s cocooned in it, the tips of his hair still wet from a quick shower after Aventurine fell asleep. 

He watches his Alpha and in his mind immediately pops up the thought of them just a few hours ago - kissing, mating and clinging so hard as if it was their first time having each other. On the contrary, and with a clean conscience, the Omega could admit to himself that he’s hooked a fine specimen. Just like a fish swimming for the bait, he’d been entranced and attracted so quickly that he was probably lightheaded. 

Still feeling the lingering touches, never satiated with just once, or five times, Aventurine feels the space between his thighs tingle. It’s hard to fight it, and at this point - there is no need to. His attraction to that gorgeous face urges him to lean closer, resting his face on the edge of the pillow Ratio slept on. 

Dr. Veritas Ratio was the most beautiful man Aventurine had seen before. Built like a god, intelligent, refined, with long dark eyelashes and beautifully curved eyebrows. His practically perfect nose was beautiful, his ears and the cupid’s bow of his upper lip - all so kissable it made the tiger feel physically violent. 

He wanted to kick and squeal, feeling the burn of the mating mark at the back of his neck. He wanted to kiss him, to talk to him, to eat him whole. Aventurine was insatiable for Veritas both in body and mind, caring so little for what he would get that he was content enough to just lay and watch.

And more than anything, the sleeping face of his lover was so calm that it was beginning to arouse him. He slips a hand under the blankets, rubbing his lower lips while he watches his mate sleep. Filthy as it was, it felt good. He wanted to worship him now, loved him so deeply he would upturn the dream world for it. 

He feels his slick spill down the back of his thighs, making a mess of the new sheets regardless. 

The cat’s ears twitch, breath stuttering into rousing when Aventurine slips closer. Even in his sleep, Veritas can smell the enticing scent of Aventurine, mixed in with the delectable aroma of arousal. It was boisterous and loud, impossible to ignore just like the man himself.

An arm raises the covers, inviting the tiger from his own bedsheets into the warm, comfortable space that Ratio had created for himself in their nest. 

Apart from the changed sheets, most of the things Aventurine had placed were exactly where they’d been left. He buries his face in the crook of his doctor’s neck, licking the pheromone glands there gratefully as he pushes two fingers inside himself. The tenderness from earlier is there, accompanied by whatever leftover cum he’d retained now spilling between them when he scissors himself open to feel his hole gape.

Pleasure sears his nerves, sensually crawling up his spine until the back of his neck is tingling.

“Mm… You even manage to be loud with your actions, hm?” The doctor says, petting Aventurine’s head distractedly. 

But that didn’t sound like a complaint. To Aventurine, it was an observation that was rather endearing for the doctor. Of course, it was much easier to know this now, because the slowly healing bonding mark on his neck tingled and allowed him to catch just the smallest hint of amusement in the lilt of his partner’s voice. 

How sweet of a tone it was. On the border of asleep and awake, like he was still deciding what he wanted to do. Unfortunately, it was Aventurine who was going to decide in his stead. While in the dream world, such a thing as hunger and the need for sleep were not quite the same as in the real world. It was still possible for the dreamers to feel a need, but it wasn’t strong, just a passing thought they could ignore or indulge on as much as they wanted.

“I’m hungry.” He complains.

Ratio finally opens his eyes and that deep hue of honey and wine reminds Aventurine why he had fallen so badly for this grumpy cat. Because he was kind, despite the look, and he would start getting up because he’s going to take Aventurine’s words at face value. 

But instead, before he could go any further than sit upright, the golden tabby slides into his lap, already prepared to take the Doctor’s half-hard cock inside. 

“Alright,” He concedes quickly, turning to the nightstand where a box of condoms lay already open, “Let me just…”

Aventurine doesn’t remember when they got there, but the one that Dr. Ratio picks up immediately makes the tiger growl. It was silly to try any safety now that they were mates. Though Ratio was thinking only for Aventurine - having admitted long ago that he wanted kids more than anything now that he’s well-established among the stars, he’d never gotten feedback on the matter. 

Aventurine had made his choice long ago, in a perfect future where his feelings would be reciprocated. Now was the perfect time to claim it.

“Wait— The condom—?”

“What condom?”

When Dr. Ratio looked at his hand, that which he was holding was nowhere in sight. Instead, it’s in Aventurine’s hand, who discards it by their side on the bed and spreads his hips wide enough for Dr. Ratio to see a small flow of cum spilling against his tip. Slowly, Aventurine rubs up against him, grinding his sensitive clit into the barbs in a lewd kiss which makes both partners groan. He’s so wet, open, ready to take the half-mast cock in one long descent.

Ratio hisses, digging his nails into the flesh of Aventurine’s buttocks as he holds on for dear life. Inside the Omega, he would harden completely, rearing barbs again to tease Aventurine’s insides until he was shivering, feeling them press in all the right spots. 

“This the kind of nourishment you seek?” Veritas questions sceptically, his cheeks red. 

Having been caught off-guard, he’s entirely unprepared to be the one ridden, the one whose shoulders are pressed into the mattress and whose eyes cannot tear away from the beautiful, lithe body that descends on him with ravenous want. Ratio can only hold on as Aventurine takes from his body again, jumping on his hips. Then once his thighs begin to cramp and his speed begins to wane, he takes well to having Veritas take the charge from below. 

In the end, he feels the Omega rake his claws across his chest, pointy tips catching on his nipple only to leave a pleasant, burning sensation that pulses the same way the blood inside his head does. As the tiger bucks his hips and prepares to be filled again, his jaws cinch around the Doctor’s shoulder and break through the skin, spilling his blood on snow-white fangs. 

It stings, he realises, but it hurts so good he forgets who is in heat and who isn’t. Instead, he presses the head into his shoulder and offers another bite just below Aventurine’s ear. 

It throws them both off the precipice when their mating bond connects completely. And then again, when Aventurine rolls over on his stomach, begging to be tended to and instead gets another round of pounding from his energetic, eager mate. 

Then again , when they finally crawl out of bed, and Aventurine, naked in all his glory, eats from Ratio’s hand, licking his fingers clean at almost every bite. They make love slowly on the table, passing fruits and sweets between each other before Veritas kneels between his lover’s thighs to drink nectar from the sweetest of fruits. 

Just like all dreams that have an end, Aventurine is forced awake by the warning that flashes in front of everybody in the dream realm. It would have to be shut down momentarily to ensure that the new installation of the ‘anti-discomfort’ prevention program would be implemented correctly. 

For that short amount of time, Dr. Ratio finds his Omega waiting for him in a different nest. One that’s not as impressive or as attractive, as it was using foreign sheets that smelled of detergent and cleanliness. But a nest they could fall into and make their own nonetheless. 

Only a week later, bonded, content, with a promise to see each other soon, does Aventurine leave Penacony for a regular checkup at the doctor. Supposedly, though various other small tasks and minor missions manage to eat away at his time until there’s a very urgent call from his doctor to remind him of what he’d pretty much forgotten.

And as he tapped away his foot in the patient’s waiting room, waiting for an answer from Ratio, he checked his calendar to see that it’s been one and a half months after their tryst that he managed to finally secure a visit. 

The nurse calls his name and rears his head, waving a hand to show acknowledgement before turning to his phone again to sign off. Instead, when he points his head down, he begins to feel a type of unease rearing in the pit of his stomach. Then and there, the man gets hit with his first experience of both terror and delight. 

A feeling so bittersweet he barely has time to message his partner with shaky hands. 

He pounces out of his seat, running to the restroom as his first bout of morning sickness hits him.