The next morning the Omega woke up late. There was this unmistakable feeling of being heavy and slow; Mu Qing could swear that even his breathing was somehow.... sluggish. It happened, this exact feeling, at the start of every heat.
Yet, he woke up due to the scent. The scent was gone, it was too weak now, diluted, a memory, and he knew that Feng Xin was not in the house any more. That loss, a small loss, of course, made him really upset for some unknown reason and he almost sobbed, now propping himself in the bed and staring at the clock on the wall. It was almost noon; his Alpha had let him sleep in.
It was weird now, that wall. It looked too empty once the large calendar was gone.
The Omega was not sorry.
It had been a thing, he had felt, which just had had to be done. And he did it, grateful for the lack of any discussion and any questioning about it. His husband was truly in his right to demand some answers on that topic, but he never did.
It took him almost 20 minutes – to get himself out of bed. He was feeling sad, and the only consolation were the traces of Feng Xin's scent on the pillows and the bed linen, so the little Omega buried himself in those. Surely, he guessed that the stupid Alpha had probably gone to the nearest newsagent's, for some goddamned cigarettes! Still, this knowledge did not prevent Mu Qing from feeling terribly alone in the world right now.
He had noticed this before, but never told his Alpha about it.
He had noticed, even in his previous heats, that if Feng Xin was to go out, or go away, even for 10 minutes at a time, he felt so devastatingly empty that his very heart was whispering to him that he was all alone in the vast Universe now, and he would not survive on his own... that he was the last one, the last man standing, and everyone else was gone, gone, gone, even his Alpha – all were gone, left, ran away, deserted him...
Feng Xin had truly attributed his clinginess to the heat thing, but the truth was that Mu Qing had been feeling dreadfully abandoned in those moments, and had craved for his Alpha's presence, and scent. And it was a good thing, it was a great thing!, that the bouncer had never been stingy with distributing his best, most calming pheromones, sharing his love gladly with his mate.
Dry-sobbing pathetically, Mu Qing now headed for the kitchen, for some coffee, as if he was going to enter into a funeral home, any second now. Of course, he clearly realized just how stupid it all was, but he could not possibly help himself. Every heat was terrible, unless his Alpha was there, with him, touching him, consoling him.
Yet, arriving at the crime scene that was his own kitchen now only made things worse, as his despair turned into fairly badly managed aggression in a single heartbeat: the stupid, stupid Alpha had tried to make some toast in the morning, and now there were bread-crumbs everywhere, the toast was half-burnt, and the toaster and the sink looked as if some natural disaster had struck, and Mu Qing had just peacefully slept through it, unawares.
- I... am... going... to... MURDER HIM!!! – the Omega hissed through clenched teeth, his eyes surveilling the damage.
Forgetting all about coffee, he immediately started cleaning up after the natural disaster called Feng Xin, grumbling, albeit there was no one there to hear him:
- Why... why is he such A FUCKING PIG!!! Why... the hell... does he still... have to... smoke... those FUCKING CIGARETTES?!?! Oooooh, I am sooooo gonna throw them all away!!! Just watch me!!! And once the baby is here... Ha!!! Who's gonna allow that lazy asshole to keep on spreading his disgusting... POISON?!?! No! Not me!!! I'm not letting him anywhere near MY BABY!!! I am sooooo gonna MAKE him totally EAT that fucking---
- OH YEA?
The single smug exclamation made Mu Qing jump, literally, too startled all of a sudden. He turned around sharply, ready to yell at the moron who had scared the living shit out of him – oh, he was sooo ready!!!
But once he saw, not just looked, his hands relaxed by his sides, and his heart melted. Of course, Feng Xin only saw his rabid Omega's expression change from a murderous one to a gaping one. Mu Qing was too surprised to even let out his scent.
- WELL, FINISH THAT THOUGHT, LITTLE WIFE! – he mocked now, his lips pulled in a grin.
But the Omega ignored that joke. Mu Qing took a small step forward, the cloth he was cleaning the sink with still in his hand. Right there, next to the kitchen's door, stood his Alpha, four or five heavy bags in his hands – those were supplies, no doubt, for the next couple of days – and... and... there was also a sprig of some sort, sticking out from one of Feng Xin's jacket pockets.
A sprig in bloom. In the stupid beast's... pocket.
It looked truly absurd, and Mu Qing only managed:
- Alpha...
But it only took a couple of seconds for the bouncer to drop all the bags on the table, and to smile, as the little Omega rushed to him, and hugged him tight, hiding inside his leather jacket, immediately inhaling deeply.
- I'm home, baby. Didn't want to wake you up... you looked so cute this morning... I... I bought the stuff from last time... I think... Ummm...? – he mumbled now, hugging back, listening to the Omega's glad purr.
- I... I missed you... - the boy ignored the mundane details and spoke only the important stuff. – I... I was... so alone...
Amazed at the dry sobs, and how upset Mu Qing now smelled, the Alpha took his shoulders carefully, and now looked at him.
- Forgive me. – Feng Xin said very slowly, staring into the sleepy eyes. – I thought I would be back before you woke, puppy... Did you wait for me long?
Mu Qing knew well that it can't have been more than 10-15 minutes, but it had felt... much longer. He, however, now just shook his head "no" and it made the Alpha smile.
- Here, pup. See? My hands were full, but I managed to steal this for you! It will look good on you, baby... I am sure.
The Omega now let go a little, wide-eyed, and let his husband take the (slightly broken and crumpled) twig, pick the best part of it and tear if off, and then tuck it behind Mu Qing's ear, fixing it slightly into his (mightily tangled) hair.
- See? Prettiest pup in the world. And he's mine. Mine, Omega!
