Ruts & Heats: A Kink Omegaverse Story

Chapter 12: Part 1 ~ Broch

*Somehow Part 2 was published first and I'm not sure how this happened but here is Part 1!*

A cold front brought rain the next day. Though it wasn't a heavy rain, the chill had Broch shivering as he ran through the front door of Fresh Forest. Shaking out his jacket, he placed it on one of the hooks behind the glass door and greeted Mikael with a nod and a smile. The blonde merely waved from his spot behind the desk, distracted by a phone call he was on.

He seems gloomy today. Though Mikael usually had a rather fierce expression when he was doing business, something about his eyes looked sad. I'll ask him about it later.

For now, Broch had his own worries. He was still feeling a whirlwind of emotions from last night with Gil. The man who had become a close friend in such a short period of time turned out to have depths Broch had never imagined. Not only was he kind and sweet, and funny as hell, but he was exactly as Neddie had suggested.

Gil was gentle. No one had ever been so gentle with Broch's body before. Gil was thoughtful. No one had cared to ensure that he felt safe, and that made Broch nervous. Because regardless, Gil was still a new friend, and Broch wasn't sure what kind of expectations he had. I should have never invited him back in the first place. Stupid lust got the better of my common sense. Is it going to be weird between us now?

Worse, he was still extremely confused and embarrassed about his scent getting away from him last night. He hadn't been lying when he said it had never happened before. As fucked up as his heats were, Broch had always had perfect control of his scent pheromones outside of it. Never had a rutter triggered it like that. And Gil wasn't even throwing out his scent at the time. What the hell had happened?

A sneaky suspicion niggled at the back of his brain, but it was a possibility he was not willing to entertain. Not today, when he was already nervous about seeing Gil again. He hurried to the breakroom, ready to distract himself with conversation and playful banter with his friends. Shelly and Terri were already there, fighting over the last blueberry muffin in a container of multiple flavors.

"I saw it first. And you know I can't eat cinnamon. I break out," Terri whined.

"Tough titties. Should have gotten here sooner. Ralph and Mik had first dibs and I sure as hell wasn't going to tell them what kind they could pick. I'm not losing my job over a fucking muffin." Shelly snatched the muffin in question and held it over Terri's head.

"Who would lose their job over a muffin? And that's not the point! Don't be a prick." Terri didn't try to jump for the treat, but batted at her elbow instead. His nails were painted a lustrous blue color today.

"Not my fault I have a bigger one than you."

"Geez, children, it's too early for this. Am I gonna have to call the dads to put you two in time out?" Broch waltzed in and plopped into one of the metal folding chairs near the sink.

Terri made a face, still eyeing the muffin. Shelly finally relented and brought it down, breaking it in half, spilling a mess of crumbs on the linoleum floor. She noticed and twisted her lips. "You're cleaning that up, Twinkie."

"Okay," Terri said around a mouthful of the half he had already shoved in his mouth. He usually gave in easily when it came to Shelly. He would never say it out loud, but Broch knew he had a lot of respect for the older woman.

Anthony strode in, rolling his neck. "So glad it's only a half-day. Long night. I had two clients after the stage. And my coffee maker broke this morning. And it's raining. I hate the rain." He grumbled as he shuffled over to the cabinets and began the search for a brand of coffee he could tolerate.

"At least we have next Saturday off. I could use a break," Broch said absently.

Terri, done cleaning up the mess with a small broom and dustpan, plopped down in Broch's lap. "And how are you today?"

"Fine, I guess." Broch fingered the fluffy pink locks currently trying to poke him in the eye. But Terri was giving him a measured look.

"And Fish Gills?"

Don't make a face. "I guess he's fine. Ask him when he gets in."

Lowering his voice, moving his mouth closer to Broch's ear, Terri settled more comfortably in his lap. "You know we heard you last night. Like, everyone heard you. Are you and Gil a thing now?"

This time, Broch couldn't help the blush that tinged his cheeks. "Why would you ask that? You know I only do casual stuff."

"Maybe, but I've never heard you yell like that. No one has. You were moaning like it was the best sex you ever had in your life. Even Anthony—"

Gil walked in and Terri snapped his mouth closed. The first thing Broch noticed were the bag under the man's eyes. But his hair was combed and his coveralls were fresh and clean. His face was even clean-shaven. He flashed everyone his gorgeous smile, planting a kiss to the top of Broch's head. Broch had no time to grow embarrassed or overthink the kiss before Gil was quickly pecking Terri on the cheek.

"Morning, everyone," he called cheerfully.

"Where's my kiss?" Shelly complained.

Gil laughed, but hurried over to not only give Shelly a kiss, but to lift her up and twirl her around some. "Of course, I couldn't forget you, Shelly!"

"Few can," she said with a smile once he placed her back on her feet. "This is your first half-day, right?"

"Get used to it. We'll have a bunch next month. Fucking holidays," Anthony muttered. He was impatiently waiting for his coffee to percolate.

Terri said nothing as he twirled a few strands of Broch's loose hair between his fingers, but Broch noticed him watching Gil carefully. He suddenly gave Broch a wink before hopping up and dashing over to hug Anthony's side.

Gil was giving everyone his usual happy smiles. He wasn't ignoring Broch or giving him any sort of special attention. Which was a good sign. Right?

The rain had finally stopped. Perhaps it was a temporary reprieve, judging by the heavy clouds still rolling by, but Broch wanted to take advantage of it. He and Gil wiped the bikes down and he cursed himself for forgetting to store them inside yesterday. But neither seemed damaged from the rain. No signs of rust beginning. He would just have to make sure he didn't slack off in that regard again. Once the trucks were loaded- only two on Saturdays -Broch decided to put out feelers while he and Gil filled the bike baskets.

"You look a little tired. You get any sleep?" Broch tried to keep his tone neutral, conversational.

"Not as much as I'd like, truthfully." Gil was purely focused on the work, not even glancing his way.

"But you're alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be? Oh, you mean my wrist? It's already scabbing over good." He pointed to the fresh bandage covering the bite. "No worries, Broccoli."

Broch gave a nod, satisfied. So, things are okay between us. Maybe I was overthinking this. Maybe we can have casual sex sometimes and it won't get awkward between us. "Up for a jog later? We can do it at the usual time so you can sneak a nap in before."

"Yeah, that sounds good. I could do with a run." Gil placed the last parcel before throwing his hands on his hips. His brown eyes were playful. "If you're ready, let's head out. I've got a ham and cheese sandwich calling my name when we get back."

A grin spread across Broch's lips. He couldn't help it. Gil always put him at ease. And now that it was apparent that last night hadn't changed the status of their friendship, Broch could breathe a sigh of relief and finally stop worrying.

But as they hopped on their bikes and started the route, he thought about how the handsome man had moaned in his ear last night and the memory sent a sensual shiver though him. I really hope he's down for doing that again.