It's as if time slows down, the only thing marking the passage of time is how the sparse clouds drift above Tiza's head. He commits his surroundings to memory. The cool breeze, the fluttering of petals from above, and the soft sound of birds singing in the distance. The plush and thick grass at his back, the bush he tumbled into prickling into his clothes from all sides, and the weight of Aosh, a heavy comfort, on top of him.

They were connected now, Aosh and Tiza, in the most intimate way possible. If Tiza was being honest with himself, he never thought this day would come; at least of his own accord. At some point, when he was still Valencia’s lap dog, he had imagined a vague picture of them mated. He can’t quite remember if he was excited about that or not. She was unpredictable and took what she wanted when she wanted. Tiza had been prepared to be bitten by her at any time, even if she said it wasn’t going to happen. But in the end he never pictured being mated as something he had a choice in.

Tiza chose Aosh.

And in choosing Aosh, Tiza also chose to have autonomy over his life and do with it as he pleased. Being mated no longer felt like a death sentence, but a new beginning. One that he could barely keep the excitement for beneath the surface.

The pain in his neck has dulled, minute in comparison to when Aosh first bore his teeth into his scent gland. Aosh's tongue laps at the open wound, trying to soothe his new mate through pure instinct. A shiver runs through Tiza and he lets out a sigh he didn’t know he was holding in.

Finally Aosh comes up, the corners of his eyes and his lips tinged in red for different reasons. Tiza’s eyes focus and he gets a good look at his Alpha. It feels like he hasn’t seen Aosh in over a year, or maybe because of the moment and the reworking of his pheromones, he tries to commit Aosh’s face to memory as well.

The flush of his peony covered cheeks are cut by dried trails of tears. His hair is as wild as ever, with a few magnolia petals stuck in it. Tiza’s blood splotches the tip of his chin. A mess in every sense of the word. But his mess all the same.

Aosh sniffles and brushes Tiza's hair away from his eyes.

"Can you say it again?" Aosh pleads. He needed to hear it again and again just to make sure he wasn't imagining things. 

"I love you," Tiza chuckles before he closes the distance between them with a kiss, "I think I have for a while," he mumbles into Aosh's lips. 

The Alpha's eyebrows scrunched together and he pulled back, "How long?"

"I might've realized it when we moved in together," Tiza says thoughtfully, "but when you told me how much you loved me at New Years...I just couldn't look at you the same way."

"Wait, when I did what?" Aosh's eyes shoot open in bewilderment. He already told Tiza that he loved him before this?!

"You...you don't remember?"  Tiza comes up to his elbows, causing Aosh to sit back on his haunches, "It was the first time we kissed. The fireworks went off and we snuck away from everyone else to make out against the side of the cabin."

That sounded so romantic! Straight out of a cheesy romance novel romantic! 

How the hell could Aosh forget about that?! Why was he so drunk that night that he couldn't even remember his first kiss with Tiza!? Aosh's heart was crying, his second kiss stolen like his first but this time it was by his own doing. Then Aosh realized something. 

If Tiza already knew that Aosh loved him, that means that everything up to this point...has been mutual. Like an idiot, Aosh had been worrying himself to death over nothing.

"So we weren't friends with benefits?" Aosh says dumbly.

"No! What would give you that idea-" Tiza stopped as all the pieces fell into place in his head. Aosh's odd behavior suddenly made so much sense. All the apprehensiveness he showed when they got physical...was it because he was uncomfortable and not because he was shy?

"Did you force yourself to be intimate with me just because you wanted to stay friends?" Tiza soberly says, scooting back to sit up.

"No! I wanted to have sex with you!"

Hearing what he just blurted out, Aosh's face flushed even deeper. He was suddenly very aware they were still in a public garden. Whipping his head left and right to see if anyone was nearby he continues when he sees no one.

"Everything we did was great and I liked it but…I-I just wanted you to love me as much as I love you..." He adds in quietly.

Aosh was probably the only Alpha on the planet that could look pitiful and cute at the same time. Tiza definitely needed to make it up to him later but for now the Alpha would have to settle for this. 

Tiza's hand guides Aosh's face towards him.

"Would a kiss make you feel better?" he coaxes, sweetly.

Aosh pouts, playing along, and lets himself be guided down into a kiss. Leisurely they press their lips together, still lying hidden in the bushes. They are still alone however, the only sound in the space they are in is the sway of the magnolia's branches above them. The breeze is light, if a little frigid, but it carries a sweet and familiar scent to Aosh's nose over the next few minutes they kiss. Oddly enough he can feel his ears heating up, and absently he thinks it's due to their kiss, until Tiza pulls away abruptly.

The Omega's complexion is flushed a deep crimson, his breathing slowly becoming uneven. One of his hands comes up to cling to Aosh's coat, his knuckles turning white as the fabric crinkles under his grip.

"What? Why…?" Tiza says breathlessly.

There was no way this was happening! His heat cycle was irregular but it has never flared up again this fast; his last cycle just happened not even two months ago! The bite mark on his neck throbs painfully, signaling it might be the cause of his sudden heat. Maybe it was his body's way of telling Tiza that it needed to lay its claim to Aosh just like Aosh did to it. As Tiza's scent began to flood Aosh's senses he started to get alarmed as well; finally recognising what it was and what it meant.

"Do you have your heat suppressants on you?" he asked hurriedly.

Tiza nodded his head frantically, "In-in my jacket!"

Aosh quickly rummaged through the other's coat, pulled out the pill bottle in question, and deposited two pills in Tiza's mouth. With a lot of effort the Omega managed to swallow and waited for the instant relief the pills always granted him. But as the seconds ticked by Tiza only became hotter and more uncomfortable; his whole person was shaking uncontrollably.

“My suppressants...aren't working…”