Mircea's roar echoed off the alley walls. Evinori paused mid-step, startled, before the sonorous command hit the pleasure centers in his brain like a sledgehammer.

With a groan, he collapsed into a quivering heap on the ground.

This was very, very bad. This was the mother of all heats, so powerful he could barely think, nearly paralyzing him with desire for the Alpha who serendipitously happened to be there. "It's early," was all he could say. "It's way too early. I had my heat two weeks ago."

"Just stop talking for a second." With trembling hands, Mircea retrieved a bright red pill from his wallet and shoved it down his throat.

"Go," Evinori groaned drunkenly, tugging at his hair to keep his hands from going down his pants. "Run away..."

"Evinori, be quiet. I'm trying not to attack you."

"Go away!"

"I'm not going anywhere! Where are your inhibitors?"

Evinori feebly waved a large auto-injector in the air. "I can't get it open," he panted. "My hands...shaking."

Mircea gulped. He had taken his own inhibitor, but it would be a few minutes before it took effect. For now, it was all he could do to keep himself rooted in his spot. His hormone-addled brain assaulted him with a barrage of justifications to just give in to temptation: you both are attracted to each other anyway. Having sex is the fastest way to give him relief. There's morning-after pills to deal with the impending pregnancy.

"FUCK!"

Before Mircea could control himself, his rage at his own self exploded outwards and he punched the dumpster with a deafening bang. How dare he, when he claimed to respect Evinori so much? How could he even consider weighing one night of pleasure against the delicate relationship that brought him so much joy?

Gritting his teeth in determination, he bagan to take slow, unsteady steps towards Evinori. The omega's eyes widened in terror as he began to scramble away, one hand held out to block him. "Don't do this," Evinori pleaded. Tears flooded his eyes. "Please, Mircea. Run away. Don't do this to me. Please..."

In his panic, Evinori lost his grip on the inhibitor and it clattered to the ground. Horror washed over him as he watched the device roll away from him, right towards the advancing Alpha. "Please," he begged. "You're my only respite in life, Mircea, please don't..."

The inhibitor bumped into Mircea's foot. Wordlessly, he picked it up and continued his approach. Evinori began to cry. Why? Hadn't he already suffered enough? What had he done to deserve such a lot in life? "They'll throw me out of the house," he blubbered desperately as the last few feet of distance between them began to disappear. Mircea took off his jacket. "Mircea, Mircea, please listen...I'll lose everything! My home, my job...they'll pawn me off again! Please! Stay away!"

His legs wouldn't move. Mircea's eyes blazed like stars as he crouched next to him. "No, no, no," Evinori sobbed. Squeezing his eyes shut, he curled into a ball and covered the back of his neck with his hands in a last-ditch effort to protect himself. "Not you too, Mircea! Please! No! NO!"

Hands gripped his thigh. Strength pooled in him from some unknown reserve in his body and he lashed out with his foot. Mircea caught it before it could connect, forced it back down and sat on his legs, pinning him down. "Mircea, no," Evinori sobbed, scratching helplessly at the Alpha's arm. "No...not you too! Please, please, PLEASE - ow."

A sharp sting, a blunt pressure for ten seconds and Mircea's weight was gone. Utterly confused, Evinori tried to clear his blurry vision as Mircea half-dragged, half-carried him to a spot away from the dumpsters and slumped back to the ground with him nestled in his arms. He felt the Alpha cover him with his jacket and draw him closer into himself, tucking his head under his chin and patting his hair. "There, there," said Mircea, audibly in pain from his own arousal but very much in control. With his other hand, he began to gently rub Evinori's back. "Nothing's going to happen to you. I'm here."

There was a moment's silence as Evinori put together what had happened. And then he began to cry again, this time from relief and gratitude. "I'm sorry for scaring you," Mircea said softly, brushing away Evinori's tears with his thumb. "I was holding my breath to prevent myself from inhaling your pheromones, so I couldn't speak."

"Thank you," Evinori sobbed. "Thank you. I'm sorry. Thank you..."

"You need'nt apologize. Is ten seconds enough to inject a sufficient dose of inhibitor?"

"Yes. I'm sorry for thinking so low of you. You've been nothing but nice to me, and yet I-"

Mircea nuzzled Evinori's ear to hide his guilt. It wasn't like he had not considered doing exactly what the omega had been afraid of. And that was inexcusable, no matter how far out of his mind he had been. "I know what it looked like. It's alright," he said. Sighing heavily, he sent a prayer of thanks up to the sky. "I'm just glad I was able to control myself."

"Yeah." Evinori gave a bitter, humorless chuckle. "If we were to mate tonight, you'd probably lose all your power and prestige and your image would be ruined. Even worse, you'd lose everything you've worked so hard for. Thinking about it makes me shudder."

"...That didn't cross my mind for so much as a split second." Mircea placed a finger beneath Evinori's chin and coaxed his face up so their eyes could meet. "I was more afraid of losing you. To hurt you who I think so highly of, in the worst way possible - to damage our relationship beyond repair, and to give you a lifetime of unhappiness - that's what scared me. Don't talk about yourself like you're some kind of pestilence."

Suddenly, Evinori cursed and grabbed Mircea's collar. "Tell me I'm wrong, then!" he snapped. "Tell me I can stand by you in front of the whole world without destroying you! Look at this! Look at where we are now! Thanks to this cursed body of mine, we can't even hang out without having to worry about disaster striking!"

Mircea had a lot to say, but he didn't. Evinori had started crying again, his chest swelling with so much despair and anger that it seemed he'd burst. Again and again he'd instinctively sniff Mircea's scent for comfort, only to realize what he was doing and get overcome by uncontrollable self-hatred. The more he shivered and ached, the more aggravated he got until he was positively wailing, his hands covering his ears so he wouldn't hear his own pathetic voice bouncing off the walls.

It was a grim return to reality from a fantasy Mircea hadn't even realized he'd created. Evinori always glowed with a tremendous grit and strength, unfalteringly elegant and unconquerable despite the difficulties he faced. So powerful was his spirit that even to Mircea, who sat nearly on top of the world, he had seemed on a level too high to reach. He had been untouchable, invincible, incredible, and Mircea had admired him for that. And so immersed had be been in that worship that he'd forgotten Evinori could have crushing burdens too. He'd taken and taken from him, basking in his kindness and support. He'd swooned over his beauty, he'd acknowledged his wonderful personality, he'd indulged in his company, never forgetting to make sure Evinori knew all that - but not once had he stopped to see if Evinori was hurting as well. He'd placed Evinori on a pedestal so high he'd cast the poor omega from his world into a bright sphere of perfection and greatness that didn't exist.

But Evinori lived in the same world as he did. Evinori's thoughts and actions had very real consequences for those around him as much as they did for himself. The real world was dark and imbalanced and run on rules that weren't always just; unfair though it was, his company really did have more severe downsides than an average person's would. Not realizing that had put a terrible fear in Evinori's mind: he was afraid that their friendship had a time limit, that he'd inevitably cause Mircea great pain. He was afraid of being crushed with guilt and grief at Mircea's consequent resentment.

And that was why Mircea would say nothing. He had no concrete reassurances to give. Any damage he suffered from being with Evinori would be caused by the prejudiced jerks around them, so why would he hold Evinori responsible for them? But saying that now would be pointless. Something terrible had happened to Evinori since they last met, and he was way too heartbroken and disillusioned to believe him.

So all he could do now was hold Evinori as cried inconsolably, choking on heartbreaking words. Why didn't his family love him? Why wasn't he allowed to love them back? Why couldn't he have a career? Why couldn't he choose his own partner? Mircea silently listened, not even trying to make him stop crying. He only squeezed him tighter and tighter, occasionally humming to show he was listening and muffling his cries in his own chest.

A loud clang from the street distracted him. They'd been in the alley too long: the robber from earlier was gone, and a small crowd of rather unsavory characters was shuffling undecidedly at the far end of the alleyway. Evinori's arousal had faded, but his scent hung so thickly in the air that Mircea could taste it, and it was drawing attention.

"Goddammit," he muttered under his breath. He'd stayed behind to protect Evinori in case something happened, but he didn't have Evinori's skills and he was way too outnumbered for his pure brawn to suffice. "Evinori? I'm sorry, but we've got to go," he said.

"'Eh?" Evinori sniffled wetly. " 'Awt 'oo you beem?"

"We've got company." Mircea quickly grabbed his belongings, helped him up and slung his arm around his own shoulders. "I hate to say this but you're going to have to walk. I'm too weak to carry you. My car's not far from here. Hurry!"

Panting heavily, the pair staggered out of the alleyway and into the street. The rush of fresh, scent-free air provided welcome relief as they hobbled down the sidewalk as fast as they could. They were barely a block down the street before Mircea heard footsteps and a chill ran down his spine: the group from before had decided to follow them. "Faster," he urged. "They're closing in!"

"Ungh, I'm trying. The inhibitor makes me really sick."

Fortune seemed to have turned in their favor, for at that moment a car came screeching around the street corner, closely followed by a police car with its sirens blaring. "Fuck! Let's go!" said a voice way too close for Mircea's liking.

"But what about-" said another.

"We're wanted, for fuck's sake! Go, go, go!"

Mircea decided to follow those instructions as well. Evinori groaned in pain as Mircea pulled him along rather roughly in his attempt to put distance between themselves and their would-be attackers.

It seemed to take forever to reach the parking garage where Mircea had parked. Thanking his stars for choosing the ground floor for once, he dragged Evinori to his car and unlocked it. "Get inside," he instructed, handing Evinori the car keys. "And lock the doors."

"What about you?"

"I'll stay out here."

"No! What if they come back?!"

"It's unlikely. The greater threat right now is me. My inhibitor isn't as strong as yours - I could still lose control if we're in such a tiny, enclosed space together."

"Then I'll leave the car unlocked. Just jump in if they come back, and-"

"Evinori, I said I could still lose control. That car's the only thing keeping you safe if I go wild or those assholes attack, God forbid. Lock the doors."

They ultimately settled for Evinori locking himself inside with the windows rolled down. The robber had taken Mircea's phone and Evinori's device was dead, so they had no choice but to wait until someone came by or they felt well enough to drive. Having checked all doors to make sure they were locked, Mircea settled on the cold ground, leaning his back against the car with a tired moan.

The night wore on. A peaceful silence settled over them, broken only by occasional snores as Evinori napped fitfully. Mircea was in the middle of using his car as a cold pack for a bruise on his cheek when he heard one of his favorite sounds: Evinori's soft, gentle laughter. Not a second later, a hand emerged from the window and ruffled his hair. "What is it?" Mircea asked.

"I found your flowers." Evinori poked his head and torso out too, showing Mircea the trio of brightly colored, four-petaled origami 'flowers' complete with stems of straw covered in green paper. An artfully tied silver ribbon held them together with a note glued to the elaborate knot.

"These are flowers, not windmills," Evinori read. "Wow. Your handwriting sucks."

"Hey, I really wanted to give you flowers, okay? But you don't like plucked flowers and this is as far as my origami skills go."

Evinori couldn't believe he was already smiling when he'd been feeling so awful mere minutes ago. "I love them," he said. "They're the most beautiful flowers I've ever received."

"If you tell me it's because nobody's given you flowers before, I'm going to have to cry."

"It's not like that. I receive a lot of flowers, actually. These are still lovelier than them all. Thank you, Mircea."

Evinori's free hand came to rest on Mircea's shoulder. Mircea covered it with his own and their fingers intertwined. Closing his eyes, he tilted his head and drifted his cheek over their linked hands, pecking Evinori's with the corner of his lips. "I'm glad you liked them."

Evinori cooed happily at Mircea's gesture. "Did you tie the bow yourself too?"

"I wish. That was done by m personal secretary, Nelea." Mircea chortled to himself. "Her face when she saw my desk looking like it was in an elementary school's art n' craft class...I've never ever done anything like this, you know. I'm only ever like this with you. It's a side of me even I didn't know I had, but it feels so right."

"What can I give you in return? I've only been taking from you so far. How selfish."

Mircea had to hold back a startled laugh. "I'd appreciate anything you give me," he coughed instead, giving their hands another affectionate rub.

"Ah, but what can I give to Mircea Quartz without seeming lame? I'm pretty sure you can get a better version of anything I give you."

"You could get much prettier flowers than mine, but don't you like mine best? I'm not so shallow as you think. I feel the same way you do. Besides, you'd be gifting your Mircea, not Mircea Quartz."

"Mmm. I'll come up with something else later, but for now - here." Evinori fished something out of his pocket and plopped it into Mircea's free hand.

An antique button. It was a tarnished bronze affair with a cerulean glass gem in the middle, surrounded by an intricate carving of a laurel wreath with its leaves inlaid with smaller drops of the same blue glass. "I collect buttons," Evinori explained shyly. "One of the regulars at the cafe traded it for a free meal. It's cheap, but-"

"Cheap? Someone could offer me same thing made from solid gold with diamonds instead of glass - yours would still be more valuable to me."