Yuji lay flat on his back, staring at the designer ceiling fan spinning above like it owed him money.
It had been three days since the lab visit. Three days since he signed away his future reproductive freedom to a cold Russian CEO who smelled like sandalwood. Three days of tiptoeing around a penthouse so big it had an echo, avoiding eye contact with anyone in a suit.
He hadn't seen Nikolai since. Not even a text. Just the medical pamphlets, and an ever-growing sense of what the actual hell am I doing.
He turned to his side, hugging a decorative pillow. "I'm going to be bred," he whispered into it.
The pillow didn't respond.
Of course not. Only Fin ever listened.
___
That night, after soaking in a ridiculously oversized marble tub (because why not, it was there), Yuji wrapped himself in a towel and sat on the toilet lid, scrolling through his phone.
He bit his lip.
"Okay," he muttered. "Don't be weird. It's just research."
The search bar blinked at him: 'First heat signs omega'.
He tapped.
Dozens of links popped up. Forums. Medical journals. Fanfiction.
And videos.
Yuji stared.
He looked at the door.
Locked. Good.
"Research," he repeated, clicking a video.
The screen lit up with soft moans and overly dramatic angles. A very enthusiastic omega was clearly enjoying their heat.
Yuji squinted. "That's... not physically possible."
He kept watching.
Well, of course he'd get horny—he was human, not a rock.
But weirdly, a slow, unfamiliar warmth bloomed in his stomach. Not like anything he'd ever felt before. Not like a man's body.
His cheeks flushed.
"Huh." He paused the video. "hat is that."
His skin felt oversensitive. His thighs clenched involuntarily.
Then he felt it.
A wetness.
Like... actual wetness.
He stood up too fast and almost slipped.
"OH MY GOD, I'M LEAKING."
He grabbed tissues like he was defusing a bomb.
"This is not happening. This is not mine. Return to sender!"
He stared at himself in the mirror.
"No way my body acts like a woman's. Hell no."
___
Back in his room, Yuji sat curled up in his blankets, face red, dignity gone, and phone facedown.
"I looked up one video. For research. That's it. One."
His phone pinged.
From: Editor Jun
[YUJI WHERE IS CHAPTER 9 STOP IGNORING ME]
Yuji sighed. "I'm literally dealing with a species crisis and you want pages."
Fin, glowing faintly in the kitchen, remained silent.
"Of course you understand," he mumbled. "You're the only one who still respects me."
He paused.
"…Do I have a uterus now?"
Well... normally yes, right? Of course he would—how else could he carry a baby? Haish.
He didn't know what was scarier, that his body might be changing, or that he might have to face Nikolai again looking like a flushed, unstable omega who cried over mango juice and anatomy videos.
Yuji curled deeper under his blanket.
His mind wandered, embarrassingly, to the man responsible for this entire mess. Nikolai Dragunov.
He remembered how Nikolai looked during their last encounter—tall, unreadable, terrifyingly calm. And ridiculously attractive.
Yuji groaned into his pillow.
"Seriously, I'm going to do that with him? Me? A bottom?"
He buried his face deeper. "Nope. Nope. I refuse. I'm a top. I draw action comic. I eat instant curry. I pay taxes—sometimes. I am not—"
A flash of Nikolai's smug face popped into his mind.
"...Okay, maybe like, once. For science."
He smacked the pillow. "Stop it. Brain. Stop."
"Maybe I should've just stuck to drawing angry swordsmen in cheap apartments."
He rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling. Then glanced at the window.
The sky outside was still dark, the city quietly buzzing. His heat hadn't started—yet. But the fact that his body could betray him like this was enough to make him uneasy. He needed answers. He needed someone to explain this.
And Nikolai, of all people, was probably the only one who had the answers.
Yuji sat up slowly.
"Okay. Tomorrow," he said. "I'll ask. Politely. Like an adult."
Then he laid back down and screamed into his blanket.
But hey.
At least the fridge was still full.
___
Yuji stood in front of Nikolai's study door, staring at it like it might grow teeth.
He'd changed outfits three times. His hoodie felt too casual. The button-up was too try-hard. In the end, he wore a black t-shirt and joggers and hoped the dark circles under his eyes gave him mysterious, tortured-artist energy.
He raised his hand.
Paused.
Lowered it.
Raised it again.
Then, before he could chicken out a third time, the door opened on its own.
Yuji jumped.
"Motion sensor," a smooth voice said from inside.
Of course it was.
He stepped inside cautiously. The room smelled like leather, ink, and something sharp—like ozone before a storm.
Nikolai sat behind a massive desk, suit jacket off, sleeves rolled up, reviewing files. His eyes flicked up briefly, then back down.
"I was wondering when curiosity would win."
Yuji scowled. "Excuse me for needing a few days to process the fact that I might lay an egg or something."
Nikolai raised an eyebrow. "You won't lay an egg like omnivores. That's... not how omega physiology works."
"Okay, then what does work? Because my body started acting like it's on a whole new setting. I mean lately I've been so sensitive… " Though obviously, he wasn't about to admit the full extent of his freak-out.
A beat of silence. Then, for the first time, Nikolai actually smiled.
It was terrifying.
"Sit."
Yuji sat.
Nikolai pressed a button on the desk and a holographic screen appeared, filled with diagrams Yuji did not want to look at before breakfast.
"Your reaction was expected," Nikolai said. "Your body is preparing for a potential heat. Given the results from the compatibility test, it's likely your first one will be... intense."
Yuji blinked. "First one?"
Nikolai looked at him like that should've been obvious. "You've never gone through heat before. And based on what you said—about becoming more sensitive since moving in—it fits the profile of a late bloomer."
Yuji managed a tight smile, nodding along while silently panicking. In truth, it wasn't some delayed awakening—it was because he'd woken up in a universe that ran on pheromones and biology-driven chaos. But yeah. Sure. Late bloomer. That worked too.
Nikolai leaned back, folding his arms. "If you want to proceed with the agreement, we need to prepare. Your heat might occur within the next week. Possibly sooner, depending on stress."
Yuji flopped against the chair like a deflated balloon. "I am stress. I embody stress."
A silence stretched between them.
Then Yuji glanced sideways. "So… like… do you do this often? Buy desperate artists and turn them into baby ovens?"
Nikolai's expression didn't change. "Only the special ones."
Yuji blinked. "That's… a threat and a compliment?"
"I prefer 'strategic investment.'"
"Right. Okay. Totally normal billionaire behavior."
Yuji hesitated. He tapped his fingers on the armrest.
"So if this happens… the whole, uh, mating part…"
"Yes?"
"Are we doing that… here? Or do I need to book a love hotel?"
This time, Nikolai's smirk actually cracked into a short laugh. Just once.
"You'll stay here. We have facilities equipped for omega care."
"Facilities," Yuji echoed. "Like a maternity ward or a hostage suite?"
Nikolai ignored that. "Anything else you're dying to ask?"
Yuji opened his mouth. Closed it. Then, very seriously, said, "If I die from this, I want Fin, my fridge buried with me."
"You won't die."
"Still. Fin. With. Me."
Nikolai sighed. "Noted."
Yuji stood up. "Okay then. I guess I'll wait to spontaneously combust."
He turned, then paused.
"…Nico?"
"Yes?"
Yuji looked at him for a second.
"Thank you."
Nikolai blinked.
Yuji left before he could overthink that too.
___
Outside the study, Yuji let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.
Step one: Ask scary alpha questions. Done.
Step two: Don't die from heat. Pending.
Step three: Survive the next week without spontaneously crawling into Nikolai's lap like a confused cat.
Easy. Totally easy.