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Sampo had to admit that he might have made a slight miscalculation.
In his own defence, there had only been a couple of times when his suppressants had failed before, so he hadn’t really seen the need to plan for it in more than a general sense. Usually, it would have been easy enough to slip away to a broken-down empty cottage in Boulder Town. He might have even picked up an alpha on the way to get it over with quickly, some miner or vagrant he’d make sure to avoid in the future – which would have been even easier now that the Underworld’s inhabitants weren’t locked in anymore. No problem at all.
Unfortunately, what he had instead done tonight was engage in a prolonged chase with Gepard. So that wasn’t ideal.
Panting, Sampo ducked around the corner of a large stone building, trying to collect his quickly waning strength. They were at the outskirts of Belobog, its walls looming close enough to cast a shadow, and the cold air stung his lungs as snowflakes drifted down gently from the dark grey sky. It could have been quite peaceful in Belobog’s own unsettling way, that death-like icy stillness it often had, if it weren’t for the circumstances.
Heavy footsteps sounded on the pavement behind him, accompanied by the metal rattle of armour. Sampo tensed his muscles to sprint, ignoring the searing heat that clouded his brain, and then the world tilted as his foot glided over the slippery edge of a cobblestone. He tumbled forward, face-first into the snow, tearing his elbow bloody and landing uncomfortably on his other arm when his hand refused to support the weight of his falling body.
“Hold it!”
Gepard’s voice, clear and thundering as old bells, a commander’s tone, and an alpha’s, too. Let’s not dwell on that.
“I am, I am,” Sampo said lightly, turning on his back to face him. Sharp pinpricks of pain stabbed his wrist.
Towering over him was Gepard in resplendent clear blue and white and polished silver armour, eyes the same cold colour as the night sky, but less unforgiving as he considered Sampo’s prone form on the ground. Now, Sampo was not above playing on pity when he needed to, but he didn’t with Gepard because he’d quickly figured out it didn’t work on him. That was probably why Gepard now looked confused as he stared down at Sampo in this pathetic position.
“Did you get hurt?”
Sampo chuckled as he wiped snow from his mouth with the back of his smarting hand. “Now that’s kind of you to ask, I appreciate it. Shouldn’t you be happy you got me?” he asked.
He hoisted himself up into a sitting position and immediately found himself faced with the end of Gepard’s unnecessarily gigantic weapon. Lifting his hands, Sampo shook his head.
“Come on, Captain, do you see me running?” he asked, going slightly cross-eyed looking at the end of the mechanical case so close to his face.
“Do you think I don’t know your tricks by now, Sampo?” Gepard gave back with a frown.
“Regrettably, I don’t think I can make this hunt worth your while at this time.”
There was no use trying to hide anymore. Scents could be masked, but the heat had already broken through his suppressants and since he had trouble enough staying upright right now, he would not be able to run far enough that Gepard’s nose wouldn’t eventually catch what was going on.
The moment of recognition was marked by Gepard’s eyes growing to the size of saucers before a frankly adorable blush spread over his cheeks.
“I had no idea you’re an omega,” he mumbled, pulling his weapon back a few inches.
“If you could do me a great favour, maybe don’t go spreading it around,” Sampo said, in his most friendly salesman voice. “My delightful cat-and-mouse game with the Silvermane Guard might not be quite so playful anymore if some of your soldiers found out, and especially if they saw me like this.”
Gepard, Aeons bless his innocent soul, needed a moment to interpret that sentence and almost seemed to recoil at the idea. “They wouldn’t-” he started, before a look of guilt crossed his face. The Silvermane Guards were not worse people than others – even Sampo would admit it –, but they weren’t on the whole perfect, either. Gepard was smart enough to know that he couldn’t guarantee that he had no bad apples in the batch.
“You wouldn’t,” Sampo corrected Gepard. He believed that.
Gepard cleared his throat. “Of course not,” he said. “There’s no reason to tell anyone, since this is your private matter. And if anyone would take advantage of a captive omega, I would not let it stand.”
“Much as I appreciate your sense of justice, that’ll not help me much after the fact,” Sampo pointed out. “So maybe you could spare me the dungeons for tonight, too?”
Gepard knit his brows, clearly conflicted.
“I can’t just let you go.”
He knelt down and Sampo saw him holding his breath, which was probably not the only reason he was growing even redder in the face. As he grabbed Sampo’s hands to tie them, Sampo yelped. It did hurt, but having an alpha handle him without intent to get between his legs right now was almost more uncomfortable.
“Hey, a little careful with that, please! I hurt myself during this daring chase.”
Gepard shook his head at him, but then, to Sampo’s surprise, he pulled his hand forward and turned it around, pressing his thumb down at a few points on Sampo’s wrist. It really would have been useful if Sampo could have been distracted by the pain instead of his hindbrain zeroing in on the feeling of Gepard’s fingers. The amused fondness he had developed for this overly righteous man was not helping him keep his thoughts chaste, either.
“It’s not broken,” Gepard said.
“My, I didn’t know you were so adept at medicine. Impressive skills, Captain.”
Gepard shrugged his shoulders. “You pick up some things when you’re at the front.”
He slung a sleek, iron-infused rope around Sampo’s wrists, though Sampo noted he tied it high, more around his arms, so that the coil did not press on the bruised spot. This done, Gepard grabbed on to the rope and pulled Sampo to his feet, and then – nothing.
It was almost heart-breaking to see him like that. Clearly, his dedicated nature dictated that he couldn’t let Sampo go, but his decency let him acknowledge the risks of sticking Sampo in a cell and leaving him at the mercy of the guards, since Gepard would hardly be able to watch over him personally for the next few days, which was as long as the heat would last without help. Now they stood motionlessly in the street, like a pair of actors who had forgotten their lines.
Sampo would have thought this really funny, but unfortunately, he was rock-hard and wet and felt like his skin was three sizes too small because Gepard’s scent was intoxicating, strong and austere like the kind of drink that would knock you out after a glass. At least he could take solace in the fact that Gepard’s free hand was fidgeting wildly, too.
“I don’t want to tell you how to do your job, my friend, but maybe we can at least get out of the streets. It does get awfully cold at night.”
Gepard glanced at his middle. “It’s no surprise you’re cold when your shirt is cut like this. It’s not really appropriate clothing for Belobog, especially since you don’t always stay in the city.”
“Oh, I had no idea you were looking.”
The remark had been meant as a joke, but fortunately, Gepard was as easy to read as an open book. The blush on his face deepened and Sampo wondered if he’d been the only one who had built up a grudging appreciation for his adversary over the time of their acquaintance.
And then he had an idea. A very reckless idea. Sampo’s life was just a chain of those, though, so what did it matter to add another?
“I know an abandoned house nearby,” Gepard said, before Sampo could extract the words he wanted to say from his rapidly overheating brain. “I will figure out something to do from there.”
He strode forward quickly, arm awkwardly extended behind himself to keep a grip on the end of the rope, like he was trying to put as much distance between himself and Sampo as he could. Sampo saw him fiddling with a lower part of his armour to adjust his trousers, then balling his hand into a fist.
He had collected a little strength during their chat, so he managed to follow Gepard inside of the old, soot-stained stone house that stood crowded all the way against the wall. Once there, however, he found his knees buckling again. Gepard turned as Sampo’s steps faltered and slowed.
“You really are right in the middle of...” Gepard cut himself off. “It was dangerous not to spend tonight resting.”
“Are you concerned for me, Captain? I always knew you were a stellar guy!” Sampo said, smiling as he shrugged. “Regrettably, I only went into heat while running from you, but alas, what can you do? Usually, I’d go looking for an alpha and get it over with.”
“Just any alpha?” Gepard asked. There was a slight edge to his voice, although he made a valiant attempt to hide it. “That could be risky, too,” he said, more sternly.
“You are worried. So nice of you, Captain.”
Worried, and hopefully a little jealous. If he wasn’t fully wrong, Gepard was a little attracted to him and the heat would do the rest to fire up his instincts. Judging by the way his breathing had grown strained and flat, Gepard had also just realised the disadvantages of walking an omega in heat into an enclosed space where there was no cool wind to disperse the scent.
Sampo pretended to survey the empty room, its dust-covered stone ground and rickety table and empty shelves, the open door to the bedroom, before the turned his gaze back on Gepard with a lazy smile.
“Any alpha that suits me,” he clarified before giving a long sigh. “Of course, unless you let me go, that’s not an option right now. Although I will say, there is one very strapping alpha in here...”
The rapid change of colour of Gepard’s face was impressive. Sampo hoped the poor man wouldn’t pop a blood vessel. If Sampo hadn’t felt like he was burning up from the inside out, he would have loved to spend the next hour teasing him.
“Absolutely not,” Gepard said, with more vehemence than Sampo had expected. “You’re my prisoner!”
Of course. The principles. Sampo couldn’t fault him for it; if Gepard hadn’t had them, then Sampo wouldn’t have liked him half as much, no matter how inconvenient they sometimes became.
“So you would do it if I weren’t?” Sampo asked innocently, smile wide.
“That...” Gepard looked like he was about to swallow his own tongue. “It – it doesn’t matter. If I did anything now, I’d be no better than a prison guard taking advantage. I am also your jailor.”
“Are you?”
Sampo lifted his hands briefly before he shifted them alongside the side of his belt, where his blades stayed hidden by a concealing device when he didn’t need them. The iron mesh rope split clean in two, and Sampo raised his free hands.
“What?! How did you do that?” Gepard snapped, momentarily forgetting his awkwardness.
“I just did it to ease your mind! You know, I would have liked to have saved that trick for a more opportune moment, but I understand your concerns.” Sampo cocked his head. “Maybe I can’t run from you, but if I really wanted to leave, I still have one or two little tricks up my sleeve.”
Actually, he was not in as good a position as he pretended to be, but Gepard didn’t need to know that. Considering how slippery Sampo had always proven to be, it was no shock that according to his deep frown, Gepard believed him.
“You are...”
His frustration was dripping from every syllable, but it seemed he had run out of arguments. Sampo took half a step closer, drifting ever so slightly more into Gepard’s personal space.
“You know, it’s kind of embarrassing to have to accost an alpha for attention like this. Won’t you have mercy on me? If we deal with it tonight, it’ll be over quickly and you can just take me to prison in the morning. You don’t seem to have any better ideas, if you’ll excuse my saying.”
Gepard stared at him. Something in his face softened, to the point that it looked almost fragile.
“Do you really want to?”
Sampo halted for just a moment. Was I wrong about the attraction? Was it something else, maybe a little deeper? The captain had been chasing him for three years at this point, and they had gotten to know each other pretty well, in a manner of speaking. If Gepard happened to have wayward tastes – and men as dutifully repressed and straight-laced as him usually did –, it was not impossible that he’d even developed a little crush against his will. How cute.
“I’ve been begging you for five minutes straight now, my friend,” Sampo said, and then he raised his hands slowly, to show he wasn’t holding any weapons, and put his arms around Gepard’s neck.
A half second later, Sampo’s back hit the stone wall and Gepard’s mouth crashed into his, and Sampo thought his legs would give out after all from the sudden shock of want. He tightened his arms around Gepard’s neck, enthusiastically opening his mouth for him, his tongue sliding against Gepard’s, fingers curling in his short hair.
After kissing him like he was trying to nail him to the wall, Gepard suddenly pulled back, breathing hard and looking extremely contrite.
“Sorry, I – don’t know what came over me.”
Sampo raised his brows, elation rising within him. This was going to be delightful.
“Say, is this perhaps your first time with an omega in heat?” he asked sweetly. How else could Gepard be so surprised by his own reaction, which really wasn’t that dramatic for an alpha in such a situation?
Gepard’s eyes darted to the side.
“I’m not a virgin.”
“Ah, but that’s not what I asked! It’s fine. Sampo Koski will show you the ropes! I may not be the innocent, pure omega a shining alpha knight like you would get in a fairy tale, but you’ll see that that has its advantages as well.”
He grabbed Gepard’s hand and moved sideways out of his arms, pulling him towards the bedroom. Snow had piled up in front of the window, hiding them from anyone outside looking in. Ignoring the pain in his hand, Sampo shook out the old blanket and pillows and turned them around. Not the nicest place for a tryst, but not nearly the worst place he’d fooled around in, either. There wasn’t even any mould or Fragmentum.
“You don’t have to strip all the way with how chilly it is, but I’m going to need you to take off some of that armour,” Sampo said, and as a peace offering, he reached for his shoulder-guard and pulled it off first before sliding out of his jacket and getting rid of his gloves and shoes.
Gepard nodded as he stripped his reinforced jacket. While he leaned down to unclasp his boots, Sampo quickly stripped his shirt, trousers and underwear, too. When Gepard turned around and saw Sampo without a shred of cloth on him, he almost dropped the boots he was stacking neatly against the chair over which he had draped his jacket.
“You said yourself my shirt isn’t doing much to keep me warm, anyway,” Sampo said, as he sauntered over to the bed and sat down, happily on full display.
Maybe it was a bit cold, but it was worth it for Gepard almost salivating as he looked at him, and Sampo still felt like he was about to spontaneously combust, anyway. Thankfully, even Gepard’s self-control had its limits. Dressed only in his simple black undershirt and trousers, he walked over and pushed Sampo back onto the bed. Sampo pulled him in, and directed Gepard’s mouth to his throat so that he could take his scent. It was Gepard’s turn to surprise him now, however, as he latched on and bit. Sampo hissed, then let out a shuddering moan as Gepard moved his mouth, sucking hard at the delicate skin over his throat. Sampo was pretty sure his slick was soaking the old blanket like melting snow at this point.
“Wait, one thing...”
Digging through his own untidy heap of trousers, Sampo unearthed a handful of condoms and scattered them on the blanket.
“Don’t worry, they’re specially made for alphas. They stretch at the base, so feel free to knot me,” he said with a bright smile, immensely enjoying how Gepard stared at him with a mix of abject shock and absolute need.
“If you’re really alright with that...”
“Of course, of course. What kind of finale would it be if we cheated ourselves out of the encore?” Sampo angled his legs, allowing Gepard to lie between his thighs. Only a last modicum of dignity was stopping him from rutting his cock up against Gepard’s stomach, but he feared it wouldn’t hold out for much longer. “So if you would get inside of me now, I would really appreciate it.”
Gepard’s movements stuttered a little as he looked down at Sampo.
“You don’t mince words.”
“Have you ever known me to be a person with a lot of shame, Captain?” Sampo said with emphasis on the title, running a hand up under Gepard’s shirt and over his back.
Gepard shuddered as if he’d fallen naked into a snow drift and grabbed one of the condoms. While he dealt with the packaging, Sampo pulled down Gepard’s trousers and underwear, which really looked painfully tight at this point, and playfully wandered his fingertips up Gepard’s hard cock from the base to the head.
“I admit I always thought you made up for something with your big weapon case, Captain. I’m sorry for doubting you!”
This made Gepard roll his eyes. “What sort of logic is that? What does that even have to do with it?” he muttered, as he rolled the condom over his cock with an ever so slightly too hasty movement.
Sampo would have loved to expand on the idea for Gepard with many dirty sword and spear metaphors, but now Gepard had lined himself up and when he pushed his cock into Sampo’s cunt, every thought fell out of his head like someone had punched out the bottom of a bucket. Used to being self-reliant and among generally untrustworthy people, Sampo knew to focus to keep the heat-fog at bay; but he wasn’t superhuman, and he’d finally reached the end of his rope.
His hands clawed into Gepard’s back as Gepard began fucking him and Sampo wrapped his legs tightly around Gepard’s hips. There was very little art to this, but there never was for the first time of a heat because all anyone could think about was more, faster, harder. Sampo was pretty sure he was telling Gepard those exact words, too, and Gepard was admirably obedient, working him over with the kind of strength that rocked the bed against the wall. Sampo was keyed up to such a high, painfully strained note of lust that he could barely tell when or if he came because it was all one rush of pleasure, punctuated by the feeling of Gepard’s lips and teeth on his shoulders and chest and his fingers digging into his flesh.
Sampo forced himself out of the stupor long enough to grab Gepard’s warm, sweat-damp face and drag him up into another kiss. The red of Gepard’s cheeks contrasted beautifully against his blue eyes when he leaned back, and he was making small, rough noises with every breath. Sampo only realised Gepard must have spent himself when he felt him swell at the base, even though Gepard’s cock was still hard inside of him – not at all unusual for a healthy alpha in this predicament. What was unusual was the size of his knot. It kept swelling until Sampo had to keep himself from kicking his feet and twisting away, a violent shiver going through his body as he tried to accommodate the size.
“Are you alright?” Gepard asked breathlessly, carding a hand through Sampo’s hair.
“Perfect,” Sampo managed to purr after a moment. He felt full to bursting, but it seemed Gepard’s knot was done growing, at least. “You’re just quite gifted. If you tried to breed me, you could easily keep it all in and give me a whole litter.”
Gepard’s face somehow became even pinker before he buried it against Sampo’s neck again, but Sampo had felt the involuntary twitch of his hips at the suggestion. He chuckled.
Gepard pulled back briefly when his knot had gone down to exchange the condom, and Sampo used the chance to quickly flip himself on his stomach and then push his knees to the front so his ass was in the air – presenting, as it was traditionally called. The position was admittedly a little embarrassing, but he already had slick spilling between his thighs and bruises in the shape of Gepard’s handprints on his skin, so what did it really matter? When he glanced over his shoulder, he saw Gepard staring at him again, the empty condom wrapping fallen forgotten from his half-opened hand.
“What do you think? I figured since you’re new to this, you should get to see the whole show!”
“Do people even still do that?” Gepard murmured, gaze raking over Sampo’s body. “I thought that was an... antiquated custom.”
Sampo laughed. “I guess it would be if I did it first thing on our wedding night,” he teased. “Other than that, as long as someone still enjoys it, why shouldn’t people keep doing it?” He allowed his legs to slide apart a little. “I’m sure you can see the advantages of the position.”
Judging by the firm grip Gepard took of his hips, he had indeed caught on.
All the drills the Silvermane Guards ran were apparently not for nought because Gepard ended up hammering into him with such force that Sampo was scrambling for the headboard to hold onto as Gepard’s cock damn near split him in two. It wasn’t often that his partners had more energy than him, and he was thoroughly enjoying that experience, and also slightly in awe when it did not end. By the second and third time Gepard knotted him, Sampo was still egging him on: “Captain, I think you’re still showing me leniency. Don’t worry, you can see I’m not a breakable, lithe omega. Show me your full strength.” “If you get bored, I could suck your cock to keep things interesting. No, not right now? Well, it’s on offer. I wouldn’t mind you fucking my face, either.” “People really underestimate you. I doubt anyone would still call you uptight if they saw you giving it to an omega like this.” And so on, always until Gepard silenced him with his mouth or with his fingers when he became too flustered.
When Gepard fucked him a fourth time and a fifth without bothering to even pull out again, though, Sampo was losing their battle of endurance, only lying on his stomach and taking it. His mind had drifted off, riding the waves of the heat, and allowing his body to be positioned by Gepard, used to his pleasure, drowning in his scent. He only came to again when he felt two hands cupping his face, making him vaguely aware someone wanted his attention in reality.
“Sampo?”
Gepard, his voice alert. Sampo noticed he was lying on his back and disappointingly empty, though considering that he felt pretty raw, maybe it was about time for that.
“Yes, Captain?” he murmured.
“You don’t have to keep calling me that – you looked like you passed out for a moment. I should have stopped sooner.”
Sampo made himself lift a lead-heavy hand and patted Gepard’s arm. “It’s all good, my friend,” he slurred. “If you get omegas thoughtless and drooling in a heat, you’re doing it right.”
“I see...”
A small voice at the back of Sampo’s head was sounding the alarm. Maybe this was the ideal end to a heat for most omegas, but not for him. He didn’t usually go to this point. Fully letting his guard down was just a bad idea, considering who he was.
But what does it matter? Isn’t joy the most important thing?
Besides, Gepard was a good enough man that he’d even keep a thief safe if need be. Sampo had been on enough planets to know you didn’t find his kind very often.
“Are you done?” Sampo asked. “You can go again if you’d like. I’m not leaving.”
“No, it’s fine. Let’s just rest for a bit.”
And so Sampo closed his eyes, with Gepard’s weight on top of him like a shield between him and the world.
-
Sampo woke before sunrise and gently slid out of Gepard’s embrace, moving on cat’s paws as he collected his clothes. Now that he was somewhat sober of the heat, he realised his private parts and sprained wrist weren’t the only parts of him that were sore, which was no surprise considering the amount of bite marks and bruises he was covered in. Indeed, perhaps he would need a less revealing shirt for a few days. Gepard had somehow managed to leave teeth marks right where the left hip window of his top uncovered Sampo’s skin. Sampo suppressed a quiet laugh. Was that an accident, my captain?
Only when he had collected all his things did he stroke his way up Gepard’s arms, gently petting them even while he tied his wrists to the bed posts with the two halves of the cut iron mesh rope he had slid into his pocket last night. He stepped up to the window and opened it, allowing the cool draft to wake Gepard slowly.
Well, for a little bit. He fought his way back to consciousness pretty quickly when he realised he couldn’t move his hands.
“I’m very sorry, Gepard, but I have to go – appointments, you know. Don’t worry, I didn’t tie any complicated knots. You’ll be able to free yourself in a minute or two.”
Gepard narrowed his eyes at him, but then gave a small sigh. “That was unnecessary. It’s not like I really expected you to stick around for an arrest, anyway.”
“No?” Sampo said, genuinely a little surprised.
“I’m not that naïve,” Gepard answered. “It’s not like this is the first time we have met.”
Sampo knew he should leave, and his knee was already on the window sill, but instead, he moved back into the room and leaned over Gepard, close enough that his blue strands were tickling Gepard’s cheek.
“Then allow me to thank you for making time with me last night, anyway. That was quite selfless.”
“I wouldn’t describe it like that...”
Sampo grinned and kissed Gepard, and Gepard leaned in as much as he could, still bound as he was. It was nicer this way. If Gepard really was in puppy love, then he’d rather part on a kiss, no? And Sampo didn’t want to break his heart. So you’re not doing this for yourself, too, Sampo? I wonder.
“For that, I’ll even give you a head start, Captain,” Sampo said, as he looped his finger through one of the knots around Gepard’s wrist and pulled it apart again.
Or maybe he had just freed Gepard’s hand to force himself to leave, since Gepard would remember his job again sometime this morning and would have to try to detain him. The idea of spending the rest of the day in this bed riding Gepard was tempting, but reality had to set back in eventually, after all.
As Sampo strode to the window, Gepard called out to him: “Sampo.”
“What is it, my friend?”
“Be careful out there. You could have ended up in a much worse situation last night and I don’t want that,” Gepard said, and it didn’t sound like a lecture, it sounded like he really didn’t want Sampo to get hurt.
Sampo shooed away the warmth that wanted to spread through his chest. “Now, now, Gepard, I’ll be fine. Don’t you know a bad penny always turns up again? And besides, I’m not the one between us who fights monsters for a living, am I? So I think I should also ask you to take care.”
He blew Gepard another kiss before he vaulted over the window sill. The last thing Sampo saw glancing over his shoulder was Gepard blushing as he turned to untie the other rope.