The draw of two true mates is a powerful thing on a biological, emotional, and etheric level. From the second they'd picked up one another's scents, Victor and Yuri's own body's chemistry had instinctively been working overtime to weave the ties that would bind them more tightly to each other.

Now that they'd found their mate, the one so perfect for each of them, they would be driven on a deep-rooted, primal level to complete the connection.

Dynamic Biologists had long believed this occurred to ensure that true mates did not accidently 'miss' each other in passing. Hence, once the scent had been caught by one mate, they would be inexplicably drawn to the other's presence until a full joining of the pair through bonding could be completed at the Omega's next heat.

Love at first smell? Instead of love at first sight? How funny…and absolutely ridiculous. Yuri had thought with a chuckle when he'd learned about such a thing.

Now, as he breathed deeply of the clean evergreen scent that made Yuri feel like the world consisted of nothing but him and the man whose arms wrapped around him, he realized he couldn't have been more wrong.

Is this just chemical? A biological reaction? I barely know him, but…

Yuri turned his head towards Victor and was rewarded with a brilliant smile that simply shattered any questions or concerns in his mind as the Alpha leaned in to kiss him. The younger man sighed happily as Victor's mouth gently explored his own, running his tongue along the seam of the raven's lips, begging entrance until they parted with a soft moan.

Oh god…yes… The little sounds that Yuri made only seemed to incite Victor further, instead of satisfying the man's hunger and the Omega couldn't have been more satisfied with the reaction, a feeling of pride rushing through him that he was driving the Alpha to such heights of desire.

Victor's fingers clenched and unclenched reflexively against Yuri's hip, grazing slightly inward and lower, ever so often along his stomach, but never quite heading into dangerous territory. The young man's mind raced, driven half-mad thinking about all the other places he wished those hands might wander…

"Victor, you're making me crazy…" He breathed out in a rare moment when their lips parted, shifting restlessly, and rolling on the bed to face him. The Alpha's eyes widened at the move.

"Yuri, we have to…your father will kill me if I do anything-" The Omega blushed impossibly brighter as he brought his hand up to cup Victor's cheek, tracing the planes of it, learning the nuances of the other man's face. The azure-eyed skater leaned into his touch with a sigh, sending a thrill through Yuri and emboldening him.

"I just want to touch you too…like this, okay?" Victor's breath hitched as he nodded in agreement.

"I promise…" Yuri bit his lip and whispered playfully. "I won't try to take advantage of you." The Omega laughed softly as Victor's eyes narrowed in response, letting out a huff of amusement.

"See? Very spicy." The Alpha murmured with a smile, to which Yuri laughed again. "I think that's my new favorite sound…your laugh…" Victor declared as he leaned in for another kiss.

"Oh, my! Well, I did think that you'd at least be able to resist each other until after lunch, my goodness!" Yuri looked over his shoulder to the doorway in shock and let out a squeak at the sight of his father holding a tray of food.

"Victor…I'm glad you seem to have confirmed your theory, but please have a care for my son's status as an Omega. I would like to ensure he remains pure until any official ceremony has taken place." His expression was stern as he raised an eyebrow at the Alpha and went to set down the tray.

"DAD! Y-you can't just say things like that! It's embarrassing!" Yuri pulled a pillow over his beet-red face and wished with all of his heart that he could become invisible. I want to crawl into a hole and die…

"Actually, I hadn't had a chance to broach that subject with Yuri yet, but having you here is perfect timing." Victor's eyes were bright and excited as he sat up and plucked the pillow away from the younger man's face, a broad smile on his own as he took Yuri's hand. The Omega stared up at him with wide eyes, mouth gone dry as he realized…

Oh…my…god. Is he going to-

"Toshiya Katsuki, may I have your blessing to ask your son to be my mate?" Yuri's heart skipped a beat, not simply at hearing the words that Victor truly wanted him, but that he was offering him a choice to say yes or no, not simply giving the final say to his parents.

It just confirmed yet again, down to the marrow of his bones, that this was his true mate. That the Alpha would have such a strong respect for consent and choice meant the world to Yuri as he continued to struggle with the loss of the freedoms that had been snatched away from him upon presenting as an Omega so many years ago. Yuri looked eagerly to his father, who nodded and smiled.

"Yes, Victor. Yuri's mother and I have discussed it already in anticipation of this. You have our blessing." The Alpha gazed down at him and brought his hand to his lips, kissing his fingers softly.

"I'm sorry I don't have this more planned out Yuri, but I didn't want any further misunderstandings between us as to my intentions," Victor explained.

"As soon as you're well enough, I'll go out and buy a proper ring for you, but make no mistake, there is nothing that would make me happier than if you did me the honor of marrying me and becoming my mate."

Yuri stared, speechless, still in a bit of shock for several moments as his mind went completely blank, overwhelmed at the gorgeous man looming above him who had just asked him to-

"Yes!" Yuri blurted out, nodding rapidly as his brain came back online. Victor grinned in response and he heard his father chuckle, but couldn't find it in him to tear his eyes away from his mate as he smiled right back.

xxx

Victor watched Yuri carefully for any sign of discomfort as he sat up in the bed eating his lunch, worried about another episode like he'd had earlier by the hot spring. The Omega set down his chopsticks after a few minutes of this with a sigh and looked pointedly at the Alpha's own full bowl of food.

"If you don't start paying attention to your food, I'm not going to eat mine."

"But, I-"

"Uh-uh! Eat, now," Yuri declared as he picked up his chopsticks again and waited for Victor to do the same. The older male huffed but finally did so, still keeping an eye on Yuri as he began to eat. The younger man smiled, apparently pleased.

"See! That wasn't that hard…" Yuri murmured teasingly between bites, tongue darting out unconsciously to lick a bit of sauce off his full soft lips.

Spicy… Victor thought to himself, biting back a growl as a rush of desire shot through him. Yuri paused in his eating to nibble thoughtfully on the end of his chopsticks, staring off for a moment and the Alpha just about lost it.

How is he so damn cute and sexy? I just want to- The Omega's cinnamon-hued gaze swung to meet Victor's, a sweet, innocent smile on his face, and the older man immediately calmed his outward expression to avoid being caught out at the lewd direction of his thoughts.

"Okay, Victor," Toshiya exclaimed with a smile as he returned to the room, sliding his phone back in his pocket. "The real estate agent will be sending over a portfolio of properties based on your criteria." The Alpha shot the man a grateful look in appreciation for his efforts. "I'm glad you're planning to have a second home here in Hatsetsu given how difficult it is for us to be able to travel with our duties here at the temple."

"Of course!" Victor assured him. "You'll be my family now too and I'm sure we'll be spending lots of time here." The happy look on Yuri's face made the Alpha's heart sing.

"Did you find out if the shrine you mentioned would be willing to accommodate us as well?" Victor asked hopefully as he looked to Yuri once more, who wore an equally eager expression. Apparently, it was the very same place that Yuri's parents had been wed in. They performed both Beta and Alpha/Omega ceremonies there, though in different sections of the shrine.

"Yes, we'll just need to figure out a date that works before Yuri's next heat," Toshiya looked to his son expectantly. "When is that again son?"

"M-my…uh…m-mm-my…" The Omega stammered.

"Your heat, Yuri. I wasn't quite sure if it was six weeks or…" Victor glanced over at the younger man, who had turned bright pink, chopsticks frozen mid-air as he looked at his father with wide-eyed horror.

"Four weeks…give or take a few days…" Yuri finally managed to choke out as he shoved the bite of food in his mouth and avoided meeting either men's eyes.

"A heat is nothing to be embarrassed about son. It's a natural part of-"

"Oh god…please stop talking Dad…" Yuri groaned, dropping his chopsticks into his bowl with a clatter and facepalming.

"Alright, alright…Oh, but before I forget," The Beta caretaker reached into his other pocket and pulled out a small bag. "Your prescriptions arrived as well." His father set them on the table beside the bed while his son looked at him, then Victor in confusion.

"But I thought my prescriptions came earlier? Who was at the door?" Yuri asked as he picked up his chopsticks again and took another bite of food. Victor shrugged.

"Hm, I didn't mention that? It was just that priest that your father and Minako-" Yuri started coughing as he choked slightly, setting his chopsticks down once more and reaching for a glass of water.

"Uh, what exactly happened?" Toshiya asked curiously.

"He wanted to know why I'd canceled my interviews and I simply told him that I'd found my true mate." The Alpha explained.

"How did he take that?" Toshiya's eyes narrowed and Victor had no doubt that the Beta had been on the receiving end of more than a few of Kin Kuromizu's little outbursts in the past.

"Well, he was absolutely delighted! After I described all the symptoms I was experiencing in regards to my suspected true mate, he agreed that yes, it must be so," Victor smirked as the Beta let out a huff of amused laughter.

"I'm sure…" Toshiya replied dryly.

"Of course, he wasn't too happy to find out that the temple would be losing their favorite son, Yuri Katsuki, but alas, what can one do about such a thing?" The Alpha winked at his mate-to-be, who let out a surprised giggle before quickly dissolving into full blown laughter.

"Right! I'm sure he was heartbroken," Yuri gasped out as he laughed, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. "I can only imagine what kind of nasty things came out of his mouth about me."

The thought seemed to sober the Omega, who swiftly grew quiet and gazed down intently at his hands in his lap. It absolutely tore at Victor's heart to see it. The Alpha reached out to gently grasp Yuri's chin, tipping his face up to meet his own as he placed a soft, chaste kiss on his lips.

"You can be sure that I corrected any ill-mannered behavior on his part immediately and made clear that if it happened again, I would seek out greater disciplinary measures to dissuade him," Yuri nodded, wincing as the tell-tale signs of pain from his injuries returning made his brow furrow slightly. Victor looked to Toshiya, who clearly saw it as well.

"I think we may have reached your limit for the moment, son. Would you like to lie back down-"

"No, I can handle it a bit longer, I'm okay," Yuri tried to insist to both of them, even as he shifted uncomfortably. "I haven't even tried to get up and move around or anything. I should really try to do that first..."

The adorable pout on the younger man's face was almost enough to break the Alpha and get him to agree…almost. Instead, he tried a different tactic with the stubborn and admirably strong-willed Omega.

"Please, pryanichek?" Victor murmured softly in Yuri's ear. "We can cuddle…" The raven's eyes narrow at the older man.

"I know what you're doing," Yuri muttered accusingly.

"Is it working?" Victor whispered playfully.

"Tch…" The other man rolled his eyes, the barest twitch of a smile at the corner of his mouth before he turned away, lying on his side facing away from Victor as he had earlier. The mirth and amusement in Toshiya's gaze spoke volumes as he grabbed the tray and promised to return later to check on them.

As Yuri's hand sought out the Alpha's own, interlacing their fingers and pulling his arm to wrap around him, Victor knew he must be doing something right. They were both so new to one another, but they would learn over time and he couldn't wait to know more with each passing day.

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