A/N My first foray into A/B/O. Thank you, randomplotbunny for the gentle introduction with your McKort trilogy, and for your support and encouragement. For those of you awaiting my return to NCIS, I've been sorely in need of lighter fare, and Happily has grown quite dark. It will be posted, as soon as I can face the angst again.

No Regrets:A Love Unexpected

One slip. One misjudgment, and Roy didn't quite make the next building as he leapt after Oliver, who was trying to cut off the man they were chasing. On the filthy cement of the alley, Roy started to roll over, and then stopped with a loud groan. Partway down, he'd hit a light, wrapping his body painfully over it, and now his gut felt like he'd been kicked by an elephant.

By the time Oliver had subdued their target and left him restrained for the police, Roy had very painfully climbed to his feet, but he swayed alarmingly. Ollie helped his friend and protégé back to their lair only to be called out for another crime in progress. Felicity did her best to examine Roy, but the only way they had at their disposal to determine if he had internal injuries was the portable MRI machine. Neither of them were prepared for what they found.

"Wait... No, Roy...!" Felicity stammered as she scanned the results. There were organs in his abdomen that, as far as she'd been told, couldn't be there.

"What? What is it?" He grunted as he turned his body and climbed off the exam table. He came up behind the computer whiz and stared at the grey and white image on the monitor. It held no answers for him. "Felicity!"

She slowly rotated her chair and stared up at him. "You...you said you were a beta," she finally said.

"What?! What do you mean? I am a beta!" He snapped.

She pointed at the screen, turning back and indicating one area. "You have omega ovaries and a womb, Roy..."

His eyes widened in shock. "That's not possible! I'm a beta! I'm not... No!" The surge of adrenaline only got him halfway up the stairs before he doubled over and curled up sitting on a step. Felicity made her way closer.

"Weren't you tested?" She asked softly.

He shook his head, not looking at her. "When I was born... We were homeless. I hardly ever saw a doctor growing up, and the school nurses don't exactly... No. But how could I not..."

Felicity went back to her workstation and did a search, then spent several minutes skimming the information. Roy waited, his mind numb, his gut aching.

"It's...it's more common in third world countries. Malnutrition and extremely low body fat can suppress heat, just as they can a female's menses. There are even a few cases where an omega never had a heat at all," she summarized.

"Don't tell Oliver." The statement, plea, order, or whatever was not what Felicity expected to hear.

"He should know, Roy. If you were to go into heat-"

"No! Please, Felicity. Please don't tell him," Roy begged. And suddenly Felicity knew that he had had a much rougher childhood than she had ever imagined. Malnutrition to the point of suppressing his heat until he'd started working out so much that he kept his body fat so minimal that it had never begun... Starvation, desperation, and fight-or-die must have been his existence. As an omega, he'd been struggling against his biology, successfully, without knowing it. Now that he did know, she was sure he'd continue to hide the truth for as long as he could, possibly with disastrous results. A heat too long denied was stronger when it finally happened. Felicity knew there was a whole portion of the porn industry that exploited the fact. Who knew what the result might be for Roy? If it came up suddenly in the middle of a fight or a chase... His life was more stable now than it must have been, and Felicity was pretty sure he was getting three meals a day for maybe the first time ever... He was a ticking bomb.

"It could overwhelm you in the middle of a fight, Roy. Oliver has to know."

So when Oliver returned, he'd confessed. Felicity had stayed, better able to share the technical information, but when that part of the revelation was done, Oliver gave her a look, and she excused herself to go home.

Roy was slumped low in a chair, and Oliver stood still, leaning back on the exam table with his arms crossed while he watched the younger man and contemplated.

"Why are you so freaked out about this? I can tell you're scared, but I thought you knew me well enough to know I'm not a bigot," Oliver finally said. And he wasn't. He'd never thought omegas shouldn't be able to do anything that a beta or alpha could. Even before, when he was a sought-after, rich, vacuous playboy alpha, he had been all for equal rights.

"Felicity thinks my, uh, my heat could start suddenly and endanger us both," Roy muttered.

"Felicity is a beta who's mostly only been around other betas. I have plenty of experience with the other two dynamics, and I can promise you, you'll know it's coming. The fastest stage one I've ever seen was at least twenty minutes. Once you get used to how it feels, you'll probably sense it hours or even a day ahead. We can make a room for you down here so you have somewhere safe to wait it out. If you decide to...have company, well, that you'd want to take elsewhere," Oliver offered, trying to calm his friend by being matter-of-fact and practical.

Roy hadn't been able to find anything to say in response, so he'd nodded, and things had mostly returned to normal.

As she so often was, though, Felicity was right that his first heat was going to be fast and overwhelmingly powerful. They were in the middle of tracking a Vertigo dealer when it came up. Roy had researched about it, never having paid that much attention to the details of a dynamic not his own, and so when his skin started to crawl and his need for physical contact meant he couldn't keep his hands off Oliver on their way back from questioning some of Roy's street contacts, they both knew what was happening. He'd been able to restrain himself to having his hands on Oliver's back rather than groping him and rutting against him like some omega pornstar, but when they got back to the lair, Oliver sent Diggle and Felicity away. He was too worried to leave Roy alone, but realized that having an alpha close probably wasn't the best idea, unless... Oliver pushed the thought to the back of his mind. Maybe he should have asked Felicity to stay instead. But there had been so much shame and fear and vulnerability in Roy's eyes, he'd found himself needing to protect him.

"We could work out. If you're exhausted, it can be easier," Oliver suggested. Roy had his clenched fists buried under his tightly folded arms to keep from reaching out to the older man. He felt cold and hot and jittery, and he couldn't stop the image in his mind that he'd found online of an alpha's genitalia and associating it with Oliver. How big of a knot would he get, locking his cock inside while he came? Would he really produce as much as half a cup of come? What would it feel like... Roy grimaced at his distraction, hating every moment of this horrible weakness, this betrayal by his own body.

"We need to find that dealer. Someone could die while you're sitting around babysitting me," Roy spat bitterly. "It could be a couple of days, Oliver!"

Oliver understood his frustration. Unfulfilled heat took longer to wear off than if Roy were to have an alpha mate with him. That was the only way to speed it up, but there was no way Oliver would suggest it. If Roy did, though... Ollie cleared his throat and shrugged. "It'll take as long as it takes."

Roy started pacing, switching his balled fists from under his folded arms into the pockets of his familiar red hoodie. They'd both changed into casual clothes, staying the whole length of the lair away from one another as they did. But now Roy was causing the air to move, and his scent wafted to Oliver. He clenched his jaw. It was the most alluring smell he'd ever experienced. Roy's personal scent always reminded Ollie of rain on hot pavement, and now there were layers upon layers of additional smells as his body released pheromones evolutionarily designed to attract alphas. By force of will, Oliver stayed where he was and calmed his body's own animalistic response.

"Talk to me. Why are you so scared?"

"I'm not scared," Roy snarled.

"You have something serious going on in your mind about this. It'll be easier for both of us if we try to have a conversation. The time will go faster."

Roy paced back and forth another four times before he replied.

"Male omegas... On the street... In the gangs... They're meat. They're disposable. You know what they call them? What I called them?"

Oliver felt ill. "What, Roy? What were they called?"

"Pussyboys. Cumbags. Worse. I never used one, but I never stopped one from being used. Being raped, or sodomized, or whatever the fucking word is..." Roy had tears streaking his cheeks, and he rubbed them away furiously. His emotions were heightened and his face was beginning to flush. Oliver knew his heat was truly starting.

Roy groaned in frustration. "I'm useless! I'm a fucking waste, just like my mom always said I was! Damnit!"

"Roy..." Oliver's heart broke for him. At least he knew his parents had loved him. Roy had never found any stability until he'd become part of Oliver's team.

"We've gotta get out there! We've gotta find that dealer and take him down! Taking out these assholes is the only thing that gives my life reason at all!" Roy practically screamed. Oliver had had enough. He stepped in front of Roy, who stopped just shy of bumping into him. But Oliver saw him catch the alpha pheromones his body was releasing in response to Roy's omega heat, and the younger man swayed forward.

"Roy, you are important to me. You. Not just you helping me catch criminals, but you. You're my friend. I know Felicity feels the same way. For Diggle, it's more like comrades-in-arms, but he cares, too. You're worth more than your muscle and fighting abilities."

Roy met Oliver's eyes and searched them, looking for the lies which were all he'd ever known until he met the Queen family. There was something so open and loving in Ollie's gaze, something that seemed to recognize and understand Roy's pain.

Roy decided in an instant. "So, help me. Let's...let's get this done so we can go back to our job. I have a life worth living, now."

"I won't mate with you out of desperation. You're too important to me for that."

Roy's breath started heaving. He was trying hard not to cry, to sob and wail and beg. He knew that his feelings were totally screwed up by the hormones in his system, but he also made the decision from trust and determination.

"Just get me through this one heat. Help me, Ollie," he whispered. He'd never used the diminutive of Oliver's name before, and it was nearly the older man's undoing.

"I couldn't stand it if you regretted it later, Roy," Oliver confessed in a pained whisper.

"I will never regret a moment I spend with you."

Making his choice, Oliver pulled Roy's hand out of his pocket and pushed the cuff of his sweatshirt up and brought the inside of his wrist to his nose and let himself inhale and fully experience Roy's scent. It was even better close up. He gently squeezed Roy's fist, and when it unclenched, he laced their fingers together and drew Roy toward the room they'd set up for him.

Closing the door behind them and locking it to make certain they wouldn't be interrupted, Oliver stopped them at the foot of the full sized bed. He was glad they hadn't gotten a single, now.

"You sure? I'll do my best, but it's probably gonna hurt," Ollie said.

"Yeah," Roy said. He was panting as he discovered that the word 'heat' was quite apt. He felt like he was slow roasting from inside. His body was reacting wildly to Oliver's alpha-ness. He was aware of every callous and scar on the hand that held his; he watched Oliver's face raptly, and the smell of him, a musk like leather that also had hints of the dark time right before the dawn started to brighten the sky, was making Roy's heart pound. He could feel his pulse throbbing down low in his gut, and when he shifted his stance, he felt moisture between his ass cheeks as he experienced his body self-lubricating. It stunned him and he froze.

"What's wrong?" Oliver asked, seeing the sudden disturbance on the shorter man's face.

"It's...real. It's actually starting," he whispered, obviously frightened. Oliver relaxed.

"It's normal, Roy. Everything that's happening is completely natural," he reassured. He unzipped Roy's red hoodie and pushed it off his shoulders, then stripped his battered t-shirt over his head. Roy found himself feeling docile and willing to let Oliver completely take over. That was disturbing as well, but the more Oliver moved near him and touched him, the more distant any response but growing excitement became. He closed his eyes and let the alpha do whatever he wanted.

Ollie got Roy undressed before getting naked himself, throwing the condom he'd had in his pocket ever since he learned about Roy onto the bed. He had to be prepared at any time for anything. He recalled his sister complaining about how the slick excreted during her heat was hard to get out of her clothes, and he knew Roy still didn't have enough extra money to replace anything they ruined. The smell of Roy's slick made Oliver shudder and fight the urge to bend the younger man over and plow into him. Instead, he encouraged Roy to lay down on the middle of the bed.

Looking up with his big blue eyes, he made Oliver smile at the gorgeous picture he made laid out on the bed and waiting. Lowering himself on top of Roy, Oliver barely stopped himself from kissing his sensuous mouth. Trying to keep it more platonic, he started slowly tongue-bathing Roy's neck instead. The taste of his skin was perfect. The sigh he responded with was perfect. Oliver was enraptured.

He moved down to Roy's chest, sucking and licking, avoiding his nipples until he couldn't stand it anymore. He ran the flat of his tongue over one, then blew lightly across it. Roy moaned, and Oliver repeated the motion with the other one, watching, fascinated, as the flesh contracted until the nipple stood out erect from the rest of the areola. He couldn't refrain from sucking hard on each of them, smelling Roy's arousal increase as he did.

Oliver moved down his body, exploring it thoroughly with his mouth. There was little give under his surprisingly soft skin. The young man had a very small amount of body fat, as Felicity had observed. At Roy's feet, he nuzzled the instep and sucked on several toes. He watched as the omega's head shifted, his mouth hanging slack, his eyes closed as he lost himself in the pleasure that Oliver was giving him.

The only thing that Roy was aware of was Oliver. Nothing else existed but Oliver and what he was doing to him. He was impatient, his ass aching as the slick just kept seeping out, needing the alpha. But every touch was perfect and special and Roy just wanted it to keep going forever.

Oliver worked back up Roy's legs, spreading them so he could kneel between them, holding them up as he ran his tongue from Roy's knee to his hip. Roy's erection was leaving shiny dots of moisture on his hard stomach as it jumped from Oliver's stimulation of his body. Pushing on the back of Roy's thighs, Oliver made him curl his body up, raising his ass so that Ollie could dip his head and finally taste the spicy tang of Roy's slick where it moistened the curve where his thigh met his ass. Oliver moaned and Roy's head rolled back and forth. Moving up, he mouthed his balls, then gave a swipe of his tongue to the underside of his cock while he let his legs relax back down, still spread.

Sitting back on his heels, Oliver took in the sight before him. A deep flush darkened Roy's chest and face. His mouth was still open, his breath panting, and Oliver watched as his hands scrabbled on the sheets, fisting, then releasing. Oliver shifted so he was straddling one of Roy's thighs, carefully starting to work his index finger into the tight, slippery ring. He lay back down atop the smaller man as his finger passed the second knuckle. He could feel the resistance of the inner ring of muscle, the entrance to that upper canal that made omegas so special. Normal sex would just stay in the rectum, but heat caused the canal to tilt and allowed the opening to be penetrated. Oliver knew that once the head of his cock passed that inner orafice, he'd be stimulating Roy's prostate as well as the two small glands just into his inner recess, where his pheromone-laden slick came from. All of those areas were tightly packed with nerves and would send Roy into raptures. Smiling in anticipation, Oliver added a second finger.

Holding his hand still, Oliver let Roy's hip thrusting work the fingers in deeper as the shorter man humped mindlessly. Angling his hand so that each shift Roy made pushed his fingers on the tightness of his inner sphincter, Oliver closed his eyes to better hear and feel. Roy grunted with the pressure on his virgin canal, but Oliver knew it felt good to him, too, since he kept pushing his body harder against his fingers.

Positioning a third finger, Ollie let Roy impale himself, stretching his outer entrance and finally feeling the inner ring loosen. His middle finger pressed in and Roy gasped and cried out inarticulately. Oliver groaned at the fresh gush of slick that accompanied the penetration and knew he was moments from coupling. His cock felt like he would burst in an instant inside the impossibly tight body beneath him, but Oliver knew he'd last longer than he thought. Still, as he breached the inner ring with a second finger, he felt Roy's body relax into the deep subservience of his heat. Oliver gazed down at the peaceful expression smoothing his friend's face and smiled tenderly. He withdrew his fingers gently and rolled the condom on.

Moving back between Roy's thighs, Oliver wrapped one arm under his slim hips, raising him for the best angle and carefully starting to push in. As the head passed inside, Oliver paused and Roy's eyes opened for the first time in what seemed like hours. Reaching up with his free hand, Ollie roughly stroked Roy's cheek, earning him a faint smile. The hormones flooding Roy's body rivaled the high from the best recreational drugs could offer, and Oliver grinned back, knowing how much pleasure Roy was feeling as well as how much better it was about to get for both of them.

Angling their bodies just right, Oliver pressed forward, feeling the resistance of Roy's inner ring. Roy's mouth opened wide, his brow faintly furrowing at the building pain, and Oliver gritted his teeth and shoved. A breathy shout escaped Roy's lips, with an answering cry from Oliver as the head of his cock was enveloped and massaged by the wickedly tight opening. They both froze and stared at each other, then the rush of ecstasy hit Roy and he nearly convulsed. Tears started pouring from his eyes and his hips jerked helplessly. Oliver shuddered as he started a slow rhythm, deep into Roy, then out past the inner ring, to push in past it again and again.

As Roy writhed and whined and trembled, Oliver felt the insane urge to lean in and bite him, marking and claiming him. The powerful pull of alpha mating omega heightened Oliver's protective and possessive instincts to a painful intensity, and he had to fight himself several times as he found his teeth bared and ready. Finally, he closed his eyes and concentrated on the carnal enjoyment of thrusting his cock into a hot, welcoming orafice.

Roy was beyond thoughts or words; beyond restraint of any kind. If Oliver had bitten him, he'd have welcomed the pain and the bond. His body was wracked with euphoria, responding to the alpha above him with every twitch of movement. And somehow, the rapture was increasing. Swells rose and subsided, but the crest of the wave was coming closer, and every cell in his body yearned for it.

Oliver could feel the spasms inside Roy as the omega's body prepared to give itself fully to his alpha. He opened his eyes and watched the utter wanton abandon with which Roy's body was thrashing. He'd never seen anything so beautiful...

Lunging harder, Ollie felt himself closing in on his completion as well. He rammed into the perfect heat of his friend, breathing raggedly as he felt his knot forming. His strokes became shorter, keeping more of him buried inside. Humping his hips hard against Roy's, he shook and tensed. The pressure mounted, tension coiling in his gut, his whole body tightening like a spring...and finally broke. His voice rose into a roar as the blinding pulses started, and he heard Roy howl as he came, too. Oliver locked in place, unable to move, but Roy's body massaged him, rippling, keeping his orgasm going and going... Endless rhapsody... Perfection... He collapsed onto the younger man's chest, shaking uncontrollably.

The madness of unimaginable pleasure subsided slowly from Roy's mind, and the careful nurturing nature of his omega instincts that he'd never experienced before swelled in him. He held Oliver tenderly, soothing him with strokes along his powerfully muscled sides and back. Their breathing slowed, and Oliver turned his head to meet Roy's gaze. His eyes practically glowing in satisfaction, the omega tilted his head and put his lips against Oliver's. Additional orgasmic spasms made Oliver jump and moan into the kiss. His knot swelled further, and he found himself kissing Roy back desperately, their tongues entwining, their breath shared.

Roy's arms tightened on Oliver, and he kissed back with fierce enjoyment. He could feel the alpha's reaction to his loving embrace and reveled in his ability to wring even more response from him. He experimentally squeezed his ass muscles and grinned as Oliver threw his head back and cried out.

"Roy...fuck... You've gotta stop..." Ollie gasped. Roy frowned and squeezed again, eliciting another weak cry and throbbing pulse from his lover. "This is an alpha condom, but even they have limits. I don't want it to break from being overfilled."

Oliver's explanation made Roy grudgingly relax. He offered his lips again, though, and Oliver gladly accepted, softly kissing him, then withdrawing to look into his eyes.

"Is it always like this?" Roy asked, almost shyly. His higher brain functions were returning and he began to feel self-conscious of how their bodies were still inextricably joined.

"This was the most amazing mating I've ever experienced, Roy. It was...perfect," Oliver confessed. He needed to meet Roy's level of vulnerability with his own, knowing they still had to work together after this. Roy flushed in pleasure.

"Good, huh?"

"Great, my lo-" Oliver cleared his throat. A wise, knowing smile curled Roy's lips, and the omega kissed him again.

His knot finally deflated, and Oliver held the condom as he withdrew. They both sighed regretfully as they drew apart. Oliver's eyes widened at the bulge in the condom from the copious amount of come he'd produced. He was glad they'd stopped stimulating each other when they did. He carefully removed it and tied it off, wiping himself and his hands clean of the overflow. Turning back to the bed, he saw Roy watching him with half-hooded eyes, his entire demeanor screaming satiation. Oliver smiled ruefully and lay down beside him, drawing the smaller man into his arms.

"Will you...help me...with my heats in the future?" Roy asked softly. He wanted to ask if they could just have sex, too. He wanted to experience Oliver in every way he could, but he wasn't sure if his desire was reciprocated, or if it would even last past the euphoria he was floating in.

"Anytime. This was..."

"Yeah. Me too."

Oliver held him tight until they both seemed to remember their mission at the same time.

"We'd better-" Oliver started.

"-go get that dealer," Roy finished.

They cleaned up and got back into their hooded gear, wordlessly helping each other, working like two bodies with one mind.

They called Dig and Felicity back in, and though the two additional team members exchanged looks at the strong scents emanating from Roy's room, they didn't comment. While Roy and Oliver had been occupied, Diggle and Felicity had come up with a location for the dealer's stockpile of Vertigo. The operation went more smoothly than any other ever had, the almost telepathic connection between Oliver and Roy allowing them to work seamlessly and silently. The dealer and his cache of drugs were passed off to the police, and the team returned to the lair.

Diggle stayed while the other men removed their gear, looking carefully at their necks as they removed their hoods and protective leather. Oliver finally had enough.

"What the hell are you looking for, Dig?" He demanded. Roy hadn't noticed the scrutiny and looked up at the sharp tone of Oliver's voice.

"You two acted like a bonded pair out there. I want to know if you were careless enough to do that to Roy tonight," Diggle replied evenly. Roy's eyes widened and he stared at Oliver.

"I would never take advantage of Roy in his heat to bond him against his will," Oliver growled.

"Wait...what?" Roy asked.

"Nothing. Never mind," Dig said. There were no bloody bites on either of their throats, so he was obviously mistaken. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Roy watched Diggle leave then turned to Oliver, his face pale and unsure.

"I can...sense you," Roy said quietly. Oliver nodded.

"Me, too. But I swear I didn't..."

"I know. I trust you. But...can a bond just...happen?"

Oliver couldn't keep himself away from Roy any longer when uncertainty and fear rolled off of him in near-tangible waves. He pulled the younger man against his chest and wrapped his arms tightly around him.

"Not unless...both of us..."

Roy tilted his head back to meet Oliver's stunned gaze.

"I did. I do."

"Roy, it was your first-"

"I've been in love before, Ollie. I know it. This isn't just the heat...the sex. You're...everything to me. Ever since you saved my life, I've felt this pull...like you're my magnetic north. I had to find you, to help you, to learn and become more like you...to be worthy of you."

Oliver stared at him, mesmerized by the passionate conviction in Roy's eyes. His lover's eyes. His bonded mate's.

"I love you, Roy," Oliver breathed, and everything snapped into place, like a dislocated joint returning to its natural position.

"Let's go to bed, Oliver, love. My alpha," Roy whispered, pulling him back toward his room. Oliver went eagerly.

~~~Arrow~~~

A/N Thanks to my Beta, FlyingPiglet, who helped me clarify my version of this 'verse. And to Tonimichelle; your unbridled enthusiasm always brightens my day!

Reviews really let me know whay ya'll like so I can write more of what you like. Just sayin'. ;-)