Chapter Text
“You know, I‘m quite curious…”
Void Archives said out loud to get Welt’s attention but he kept his focus on the computer screen in front of him instead.
“Are you an Alpha or an Omega?”
The question made Welt stop typing away on his keyboard to look over his shoulder at them.
“Why the sudden interest in my secondary gender again?”
“I just want to know, Welt. We’ve known each other for so long. Why not ask again when we have nothing else to do on this train? Well…, I have nothing else to do on this train other than sorting my archives. Other than that, Himeko and that little conductor think I have to be chaperone by you at all times if I want to wander around to cure my boredom.”
If Void Archives is bored it can only spell mischief. Not only that but, they want to talk about secondary dynamics again.
Welt turned back to his computer, resuming where he left off to type a few more sentences to log his travels over the years in space.
“Are you ignoring me, Welt?” Void Archives tilled their head, trying to look over his shoulder from where they sat, wondering what Welt is so focused on doing.
“No, I’m listening.”
Void Archives sighed as they sat up on the couch to fix their poster.
“Then let me ask my question again– Welt, are you an Alpha or an Omega?”
Welt decided to stop typing for today as he found a good place to resume when he comes back to it, shutting down his computer to rest and turning around in his spinning chair to give Void Archives his full undivided attention.
“Why only Alpha or Omega? What if I’m actually a Beta?” He questioned them as he leaned back in his chair, folding his arms.
Void Archives hummed in thought. Only to say, “Are you really a Beta?”
Welt couldn’t help but snicker at Void Archives failed attempts at guessing as he brought a hand to cover his smile.
“Come on, Weltttt~ Why so secretive about it. Is it not normal to talk about secondary genders with one another? I’ve been trying to categorize you into one of the two options so ruling you to be a Beta was off the table because it would be unlikely to classify you as one.”
“Oh?” Welt moved his hand away from his face as he uncrossed his arms. “And what makes you believe that?”
“For a great Herrscher such as yourself, you should know that having a core can only be manifested or inherited by an Alpha or an Omega. Never a Beta. Not even the 1,000 Herrscher of Dominance cores in both eras were manifested in a single Beta. How else were they supposed to show “dominance” with their combined Alpha and Omega pheromones to achieve Enigma? To be honest, it’s practically a myth at this point as not even the previous era knew such things of that supposedly “superior” gender dynamic when the Herrscher of Dominance came into existence and spoke word of it.”
Welt leaned forwards in his seat, listening to this new found knowledge.
“But if a core somehow did manage to manifest in a single Beta, would the Herrscher of Dominance never come to be in the first place with how weak and muted a Betas scent is? Or would they still find a way to show dominance? Would the Herrscher of Dominance actually achieve Enigma if Herrscher cores were compatible with Betas?” Void Archives started to ramble to themself now deep in thought at the possibilities.
“Well, what if I’m just an exception then?” Welt jokes.
Void Archives stops their mumbling to scoff at that, looking away from Welt only to glance back at him.
“I highly doubt it.”
“Says the one who practically threw their scent everywhere when you first presented as an Alpha. Your scent was everywhere on the ship, if I hadn't thrown you into a room quickly it would have been even worse.” Welt recounted when Void Archives went into their first ever rut.
It was horrible knowing that isolating them would cause them a lot of pain. Especially when he took into account that Void Archives probably didn’t know what to do for the first few days as they rode it out by themself alone.
Luckily it wasn’t awkward between them as Void Archives got better moderating their overpowering scent and notified Welt when they were approaching their ruts. Only slipping up their scent on random occasions as Himeko once pulled him aside to talk about Void Archives scent irritating her passengers who happened to hitch a ride for a warp jump.
It was a bit embarrassing to relay the message back to Void Archives but they easily compiled at the cost of playing around with his glasses until they got bored. He didn’t want to question it as long as the vanilla scent in the air didn’t feel suffocating until the passengers got off the express safety at their next stop.
What he got back was a broken pair of glasses that was snapped in half as one of the lenses had popped out of frame.
Welt would have been mad at Void Archives if he didn’t have his powers but it wouldn’t be far off if they wanted to gain a reaction out of him. Silently dematerialized the broken glasses in front of them and made a new pair. Putting the newly fixed glasses back on and fixed it on his face as he left Void Archives standing in the party cart without uttering a single word to them.
“You sure you haven't mixed up your own scent and took it as mine? Honestly, I think I’ve lost my sense of smell with you being near me all the time.” Welt said, holding his head to show how pained he looked even though he was clearly fine.
Seems like they’ve both deviated from the original conversation now.
Void Archives shifted in their seat, wanting to bring the conversation back to Welt’s secondary gender.
“Well, I’ve searched in my archives trying to distinguish and categorize your reactions and your mood changes when I let more of my scent out around you but I can never tell since it’s hard to gain a reaction out of you. Even your micro expressions don’t tell me enough and besides, you always find a way to not answer my questions.”
Welt cringed inwardly at that. He might have been joking about it a few seconds ago but it makes sense now why the two seemed to be stuck together more closely after Void Archives became an Alpha. Perhaps every person they’ve met after getting on the express has been shooed away by their scent that must have been all over him.
He still remembers that one time where a receptionist had mistaken them as mated pairs, recommended them for a lovers room with a 15% off deal where they were booking at. Welt awkwardly had to clear up the misunderstanding to her as they were just friends who happened to be working around the area for a few weeks. Telling her that they just wanted a standard room with two beds to split the cost of staying.
That incident only made Void Archives research more about the customs of secondary dynamics and asked Welt’s opinion on how they viewed most of it.
“Perhaps the data in your archives is simply outdated??”
“I— THAT'S ABSURD!! Who do you take me for?? I’m Void Archives for a reason, Welt Yang. Of course some of the data might be outdated but—.”
Welt felt a bit bad trying to joke around some more to dodge the questions. Maybe he should tone it down with the teasing then.
“Yeah, sorry Void. But times have changed and dynamics have become much more complex in the current era than the previous one.”
“That is true.” Void Archives calmed down and agreed. “Though, your scent in particular is different from all the other Betas I’ve come across. While it varies between both male and female Betas on how much scent glands they have, they all relatively produce the same dull and muted scent like Dan Heng’s who is a Vidyadhara. A species who are incapable of reproducing offspring, only going through self-reincarnation. Yet, when it comes to you, and only you, Welt Yang. Your scent is practically nonexistent! After being near you for all those years, I found it annoying that I can’t find the reasoning behind it. So— can I get closer to smell you?
“Ummm what—.” That caught Welt off guard.
“Huh? I’m just asking.”
Welt thought about it. On one hand, he thinks it should be fine for Void Archives to smell him. He’s been on suppressant medication after he stopped appearing to the public as Welt Joyce and with the use of his powers he was able to learn to make modern suppressant medication when he grew older. It became handy knowledge for long expeditions up to now. But on the other hand, he's a bit wary of letting them get closer to him.
Void Archives is an Alpha after all and Welt Yang is an Omega under all the suppressants.
“Okay then…”
“Wait really?!”
“If I said no, you’ll only continue to bug me about it. It won't be long until I can continue to dodge your questions.”
“Then— hurry up and come sit down next to me. I’m eager to see if I can sense it and guess it correctly!”
Welt got up from his chair and sat down next to Void Archives on the couch who had a smile on their face. Welt turned towards them, opening his arms out as if embracing them in a hug. Void Archives reciprocated it—quickly pulling Welt much closer to them—he froze up as their arm snaked around his waist but relaxed a few seconds later. Slowly lowering his own head next to their neck but didn’t breathe in their scent.
They both held each other in their arms as Void Archives inhaled into Welt’s neck.
Welt couldn’t help but feel his mouth go dry. For always being close to each other, this is the first time they've both hugged. His own heartbeat had started to betray him as it raced whenever Void Archives deeply inhaled near his collarbone. Pulling him closer, holding him tighter.
The hug almost became death crushing as Welt felt Void Archives sniffing where his scent glands should be—underneath his suit's turtleneck—as they continued to move upwards towards his jawline. Feeling their nose rubbing on his skin as every exhale tickled his neck.
Void Archives released their hold and Welt thought they were done as he let go of them but was pulled back in as Void Archives brought a hand up to his neck. Their fingers brushed against Welt’s scent glands as they pulled down on Welt’s turtleneck suit, nose diving into the crook of his neck without anything covering up his scent glands.
A sharp gasp was heard as Welt’s face flushed red. The initial shock had him stunned but he quickly gathered his thoughts and roughly pushed Void Archives off of him.
“I-I think that’s enough—.” Welt blurted out, moving his hands off them and fixed his suit's turtleneck.
Void Archives was speechless for a bit but agreed nonetheless, apologizing to him.
“Sorry for taking it too far, but I still can’t tell if you're an Alpha or Omega when I’ve smelled you up close.”
Welt could feel his face burning.
“Maybe you can’t perceive my scent because your body might be refusing to acknowledge me?” He tells them as he gets up with shaky legs. He picks up his coat on the chair and puts it on, along with his scarf that he wraps around his neck for comfort.
Void Archives raised an eyebrow at what Welt said.
“I’ve never heard of such things like that before in my archives.”
It’s true, Welt made that last bit up on the spot.
“Anyways—,” Welt materialized the Star of Eden to lean on. “If you’ll excuse me— I just remember that I have some things I need to discuss with Himeko and Pompom concerning my Express Duties for next week.”
Void Archives wanted to say something to Welt but held back as they watched him leave the room quickly, closing the door behind him with a loud slam.
They didn’t think Welt would react like that as they sat and pondered in silence. They then looked down at their hand that touched Welt’s neck, bringing it up to their nose and sniffed it. Again, there is no smell but— Opening their mouth, Void Archives found themself licking their fingertips.
The feeling felt too erotic for their liking but a rush of euphoria encouraged them to chase the faint citrus flavor on their tongue as they pushed their fingers into their mouth deeper. Wanting to taste more of it. Void Archives then paused to look up at the door, unsure if Welt would come back and walk in on them any second. When they deemed the coast to be clear, they resumed sucking on their fingers as a fleeting thought made them imagine it was Welt’s fingers they were sucking on instead.
The citrus taste was definitely not theirs as Void Archives had more of a rich woody vanilla taste. Their scent took on a bibliosmia smell—the smell of books with a hint of vanilla—but due to their long existence and Alpha dynamic, it amplified their scent to an almost suffocating level.
They do wonder how Welt can handle their scent so well for many years in close proximity. Other people they’ve met on their travels either loved their scent or out right hated it. Only tolerating them at most due to their knowledge and because of Welt acting as a middle man when it came to working and conversing with other people.
Then again, does this citrus flavor really belong to Welt? And if so, why can’t they smell him but taste him instead?
It only raises more questions for Void Archives but perhaps they are just overthinking all of this.