"Hot tub tonight?" Rufus asked from the chaise lounge where he was draped, sipping a glass of wine.

"Mmm, absolutely. I'm a little disappointed that you're not already in it." Tseng hung up his coat before pouring a glass for himself.

"Wasn't sure how late you'd be. I didn't want to end up wrinkly before you came home. How was the auction?"

"It was great. There wasn't one."

"What? They backed out?"

"Not exactly. They didn't want to sell him, but realized that he needed a mate. Although, he doesn't yet. Just started his heat—at seventeen, mind you—but they thought that meant he'd need a mate right away. His parents and the town's mayor came, and they offered to pay us for an alpha for him. Apparently the whole town chipped in. He was well treated and wanted there. They were only willing to give him to us as a last resort."

"They …" Rufus stared for a few seconds, then took a big sip of wine. "You didn't take their money, did you?"

Tseng recoiled. "Fuck no! But if attitudes are shifting in some places, we're going to have to think of new ways of ensuring that omegas get the mates they need and stay happy. I set the four of them up in a hotel, and we'll meet tomorrow to discuss how to arrange things. I think it would be good if he had some time here to get to know other people like him, but we'll see how he feels about that." He sank to the floor at Rufus's side and lay his head in his lap, drinking in his scent.

Rufus's fingers trailed through his hair. "Gaia, that makes me so happy. It was Mideel that he was coming from, right? Let's make sure we work out a new trade agreement with them. Scarlet's got those new solar panels her department came up with that would probably benefit them."

"I'll do that. And I'll find some alphas who wouldn't mind a change of scenery so he can move back once he's mated." Tseng kissed along the hem of Rufus's robe before pushing it open slightly.

A shrill alarm rang through the apartment and they both jumped up. Tseng ran for the emergency device on the wall. "Shit, it's Reno. I've—"

"Go!" Rufus shouted at him as he scrambled into his clothes.

He didn't wait a moment longer and ran out the door, scanning his card and activating the emergency mode to immediately divert the nearest elevator to him. He knocked someone aside as he got off on the tenth floor, his legs carrying him as fast as they could towards the apartment with the red triangle.

He needed no explanation as to why Reno had sounded the alarm when he burst in. Screams were coming from Cloud's bedroom.

"Get off! Don't touch me!"

"Get the fuck off of him!" Reno's voice could also be heard, and his alpha instincts roared within him when he saw the omega pulling at the alpha who was trying to pin Cloud down. Luxiere.

Tseng grabbed him by the neck and bodily threw him across the room and into the dresser, snarling as his did so. Cloud was in a state of sheer panic. His shirt was off and his pants were undone and pushed partway down.

"Don't! Don't! Bad!" Cloud scratched at his bare skin before hitting himself in the groin with a scream of pain.

Making a split-second decision, Tseng grabbed both of his hands and pinned them above his head, then clamped his jaw over his throat. Cloud had had this done to him once before, and although Sephiroth had said it worked, he hated to take the drastic measure again. Cloud stopped struggling immediately, but he shook with fear and continued to cry.

"Get the fuck out," Reno snapped, then he was by Cloud's head, stroking him gently. "It's okay, Cloud, you're safe. Tseng is here, keeping you safe. He's not going to bite you, so just breathe. Breathe his scent. You know it. You know you're safe with him. Should I get his stethoscope?"

Tseng gave a slight nod and the omega slipped away, returning with it moments later. He gently placed the ear pieces in and held it to his own chest, since Cloud couldn't move to hold it himself.

"Think my heart's going a mile a minute," Reno said softly. "Is yours any better?"

Tseng gave another nod and did his best to calm down. The metal was cold against his chest, and he breathed deeply.

It seemed to take forever before Cloud had calmed enough that he felt it was safe to let go of his throat. In the back of his mind, he noticed his mate enter the room.

"No one else comes in," he said quietly before beginning to lick Cloud's neck. The omega relaxed further under the gentle touches.

"He's closed his eyes," Reno whispered after a time.

"Good." Tseng kept up his ministrations for a while longer until Cloud was completely limp beneath him. Only then did he carefully gather him into his arms and begin to purr.

He saw Sephiroth hovering a few steps back from the doorway, looking anxious, but obeying his orders to stay out. Rufus pulled a blanket from the closet and tucked it around them.

"I've contacted Doctors Aerith and Gast. They're waiting in the meeting room upstairs. Luxiere is there as well."

"Thank you, love." Tseng kissed his mate's palm before resuming his purring, grateful for his understanding.

"Do you want me to call in Vincent? I'm sure he'd be willing to come for something like this, and you won't want to leave Cloud alone while you deal with what happened."

"Please." Cloud was going to need someone with him until tomorrow, at a minimum, but he needed to find out what happened. Sooner rather than later. The former head Turk was the only person he was remotely willing to leave Cloud with when he was in this state. He hated to have to admit that such a thing had happened on his watch, however. "His pyjamas."

Reno silently slipped off the bed and came back with a comfortable-looking pair of pants and a T-shirt.

"He doesn't like the buttons on his actual pyjamas."

Cloud remained pliant as Tseng got him dressed and cuddled up again. He used the opportunity to check him for injuries. His chest and neck were scratched up, and he had bruises forming on his groin as well as his shoulders. Cloud didn't have the chance to bruise his own shoulders that he was aware of. That had definitely been Luxiere, trying to hold him down. The injuries to his groin were less clear.

"You're growling," Rufus said softly when he returned. He slid into the bed beside him and rubbed his shoulders. The act helped calm his rage a degree or two. Perhaps if he waited long enough, he wouldn't kill Luxiere on sight.

Cloud stirred slightly and appeared to reach out for something.

"What do you need, sweetheart?" he asked gently.

"He likes his chocobo when he's scared," Reno replied. "He might be looking for that."

"Get it." He eased off on his purring when Reno brought the crude toy over and Cloud closed his fingers tightly around it, clutching it to his chest. "There you go, sweetheart. You're safe."

Tseng glanced up to see Sephiroth blushing in the doorway, and recalled that the SOLDIER had made it for him. He almost laughed; SOLDIERs were so easily embarrassed, yet still succumbed to the same instincts as the rest of them.

"Once Vincent gets here, I want every alpha who's been seeing Cloud to come to the meeting room in this building. This cannot happen again."

"I'll get them," Sephiroth growled before disappearing.

Cloud gave a soft whine at the sound of Sephiroth's voice, and Tseng stroked his hair to soothe him. "Shh, sweetheart. Sephiroth will come back later if you want him to, but for now you're safe with me. Just rest. No one's going to hurt you."

Cloud had fallen asleep by the time Vincent arrived, and though it pained him to wake him up, he couldn't just leave him in the care of someone else while he wasn't at least partially aware. Between them, they kept Cloud functioning on pure instinct, and he nuzzled into the former Turk as they slowly made the transfer.

"Thanks for coming."

Vincent just hummed as he got Cloud settled comfortably. "Go sort out your alphas. All of them. This never would have happened if you had kept better control over them."

"Yes, sir." Tseng slipped away as the guilt ate at him. He had fucked up. He had thought he had kept close enough tabs on everyone who was courting Cloud, but that clearly hadn't been the case. The omega's terrified screams still rang in his ears. Would he even be able to mate after this? He hadn't lost an omega yet, but … "Reno, I need you to come too."

He arrived on the fifteenth floor where the meeting room was located and entered to find Sephiroth and Luxiere being physically restrained by four other alphas each.

"Sit down, all of you," he said. "If you can't control yourselves, I'll have you chained down."

Luxiere immediately stopped fighting, but Sephiroth still looked like he was going to go for the man's throat.

"I mean it, Sephiroth," he said with a warning growl. "Cloud is resting for now. Reno, take a seat by me."

Reno sank into the chair nearest to where he was standing, and Tseng rubbed his shoulders. The omega leaned into him instinctively as the rest of the people in the room slowly found chairs.

"What happened?" Aerith asked.

"Reno, can you explain from your point of view?"

Tseng kept his hand on Reno to comfort him as he nodded. "Cloud had a date with Luxiere tonight. He had wanted to stay in because Doctor Gast is still pretty strict with his diet and it's just easier for him that way instead of trying to figure out menus. Some people …" He glanced around the room deliberately. "I think some people forget that he's still learning to read and they get impatient and that makes him feel stupid. Like you all wouldn't have taken way longer if you hadn't learned when you were kids. Anyway, they stayed in. I went out for dinner with my mom to give him some privacy, and when I got back, I heard them in the bedroom. I didn't think too much of it. Cloud's still hella nervous about sex, but he's really been trying lately and doing a bit more touching. He's always stayed out in the living room before, but I figured he was just feeling comfortable with going a little further and didn't want to be out in the open."

Reno looked over at Luxiere and gave him a vicious glare. "I heard him say no. He said, 'no, I don't want to,' and Luxiere told him it would be fine. I was going to knock on the door, but then he started screaming. I hit the panic button, then went in. Luxiere was on top of Cloud. I don't know what the fuck he thought he was doing, but he wouldn't get off even though Cloud was screaming at him to. He yelled at me to stay out of it and knocked me back when I tried to make him move. That's about when you came in, sir.

"I don't … I don't know what else I could have done. I'm supposed to give him space to explore his sexuality and look for a mate, but …"

"You did exactly what you were supposed to do, Reno. Thank you." He shot a glare at Sephiroth and several others who looked like they were having trouble remaining seated, then turned to Luxiere. "Explain yourself."

"I was trying to get him to calm down," Luxiere protested.

"From the beginning."

Luxiere grumbled and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "We had dinner and watched some TV. It was going pretty well. He was cuddly and was fine with kissing and touching on the couch. We'd been making good progress last week, and so I asked if he'd like to move to the bedroom. He said yes. He let me take his shirt off, but when I moved on to his pants, he got nervous. But I'd touched him through his underwear before, so I figured he'd be fine and tried to reassure him. Then he suddenly freaked out and, like I said, I was trying to calm him down when Reno barged in and scared him even more."

There was a low rumble from the opposite side of the table, where several other alphas were growling.

"So, let me get this straight," Aerith spoke fairly calmly, but Tseng could hear the anger in her voice. "Cloud has made it abundantly clear that he wants to be the one to initiate during his interactions with alphas. He has told me, he has told Tseng, he has told Sephiroth, and he has told Reno. That's just who I am aware that he has directly told. And we have all ensured that that information has been passed on to everyone courting him. And yet you suggested moving to the bedroom. You removed his shirt and unfastened his pants. When he expressed that he didn't want to, rather than listening, you decided that because he'd let you before, he should again. And then when he was unable to cope with your unwanted advances and panicked, you forced yourself on him further. Did I understand that correctly?"

"He was building up to his heat last week, you fucking moron," Sephiroth hissed through gritted teeth. "Of course he was feeling horny and willing to do more. You had no business taking advantage of it!"

"Says the guy who gets to fuck him!"

"During heat, asshole! That doesn't mean anything!"

"Enough." Tseng had half a mind to just let the others tear Luxiere apart, but he kept himself in check. "No, I don't want to hear any more," he said when both Luxiere and Sephiroth opened their mouths to argue. "By your own admission, Doctor Aerith's summary appears accurate. I allowed you to court Cloud because I wanted him to have the option of someone closer to his own age, and I trusted that you had the self-control and maturity to respect not only Cloud, but your own dignity as an alpha.

"I don't know where I went wrong in my assessment of you, but you completely disregarded a vulnerable omega's wishes and terrorized him into a near-catatonic state. Whether or not he'll recover remains unclear. You went against every rule we have and ignored his assigned roommate's orders for you to leave him. Reno has the appropriate training to deal with him panicking. There was absolutely no reason for you to stay if you truly didn't intend harm. I had to forcibly remove you from an omega who was stating with complete clarity that he wanted you off of him and not touching him. You disgraced us all. Doctor Gast, I'd like you to schedule a castration in the morning. Director Lazard will determine your new position afterwards, but you will be leaving Midgar permanently."

Luxiere began protesting, but Doctor Gast simply nodded, looking grim. Everyone understood that there were no second chances when it came to omegas. There were far too few of them to risk allowing behaviour like that to slide.

"I'll schedule it first thing. I'd like to see Cloud tonight, however."

"Of course. Vincent is with him if you'd like to go now." He turned to Rufus and the Turks who were there as security. "Take Luxiere to the lockup."

"Gladly." Rufus sneered as the Turks hauled the protesting alpha up.

Tseng waited until they were gone to speak again. "I don't know if Cloud will be okay. If he recovers, it's clear that this is not and should never have been treated as a typical courtship, and that allowing the alphas courting him the freedom I have was a mistake. Doctor Aerith, please feel free to jump in if you disagree or have other ideas, but for the time being, I am forbidding all sexual interaction with Cloud when he's not in heat."

"All?" Genesis asked.

"All. Nothing more than a hug, if he initiates it."

"But he's got to learn—"

"No," Sephiroth said quietly. "He doesn't have to learn anything. If he's able to go through with mating, his mate will simply have to adjust. An emotional connection is more important. He needs love, not sex."

"Being mated might help Cloud overcome his fear of sexual activity," Aerith said. "Omegas will always feel safest with a mate, after all. But yes, it's possible that he might not want to have sex outside of heat. In which case, his mate will have to adjust."

Zack frowned. "But then, how are we supposed to court him? He always wants Sephiroth for his heats, so should we just give up?"

"Gaia, you guys really do only think with your dicks," Reno snapped. "You can't think of any other way you could get close to him? I can think of a dozen things off the top of my head that I could do to get him to notice and like me without flapping my cock at him."

Tseng tried in vain to keep a straight face, and it took him a moment to recover his professionalism. The alphas at least had the decency to look ashamed. "Cloud choosing to have Sephiroth with him doesn't necessarily mean he wants to mate with him. Rufus didn't let me stay with him until the heat before we mated. He had a partner from before we met that he trusted to get him through it, and that was what he was comfortable with."

Reno nodded. "Cloud knows what it's like with Sephiroth. If I'd been through even a fraction of what Cloud's gone through, I wouldn't be choosing the unknown for that until I was absolutely certain I wanted someone else."

Genesis pushed back his chair. "Sorry, I'm out. He's a sweet kid, but I'm not risking blue balls for the majority of my life."

"That's fine," Tseng said. "You all have the choice to back out. I don't want him with someone who will resent him."

Several others left with Genesis, but Tseng was unsurprised that Sephiroth didn't so much as twitch. Zack remained as well, and he shrugged. "I'm sure I can think of a few things to grab his attention too. And besides, I like his spunk. He's got attitude. And he deserves someone who wants him for more than sex."

"All right. No contact with Cloud until I say otherwise. All dates are to be approved by me first, and no one is permitted to be alone with him." Bone-deep tiredness suddenly filled him. He wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep with his mate at his side. That wasn't going to happen, but it was a nice dream. "Everyone is dismissed. Doctor Aerith, will you be available tomorrow?"

"Of course. Call when you think he's nearing ready to have me there."

Reno waited for him, and Sephiroth also remained seated until everyone else had left.

"You okay, Sephiroth?" he asked.

"No. Can I see him?"

Tseng hesitated a moment, then nodded with a sigh. "Briefly, as long as he remains calm. I'm sorry I had to make such a strict decision, but …"

Sephiroth shook his head as he pushed himself up. "I understand and agree with it. We didn't do much sexual stuff anyway, so it doesn't matter to me. I just want him to feel safe and happy with me."

"You didn't?" That surprised him. He had figured that Sephiroth was the one Cloud was the most comfortable with.

"No." The three of them headed for the elevators. "Cloud said that he wanted to be in charge, and so we only ever do what he initiates. Mostly we just kiss and cuddle, if that much. He likes going out and having new experiences, so that's what I try to arrange when we see each other, and he's not comfortable with public displays of affection. He wanted to do a bit more in the days leading up to his latest heat, but ..."

"But that was pre-heat horniness and you remembered that it's a thing. Fuck." Tseng banged on the down button. "I suppose that means that he hasn't been the one initiating with the others if he's been doing more with them. I should have kept better tabs on the situation. I'm sorry. Both of you. This shouldn't have happened."

"Do you think it would be all right if I asked Rude to come over for a while?" Reno asked. "Still kinda freaked out."

"Of course." Tseng gave Reno a tight hug. "You did really well, both in calling for help and working with me to calm him down. You'll make a good Turk."

"You think so?"

"Absolutely. This has been a difficult assignment, but you've proven that you have what it takes."

Sephiroth nodded. "You've been going above and beyond supporting Cloud, not just because it's your job, but treating him as a friend. He's told me a number of times how much he appreciates you."

"He is my friend."

"He knows."

The apartment was quiet when they got back. Gast was gone, which meant that Cloud probably didn't have any serious physical injuries. It was a small relief, but a relief nonetheless. Tseng tapped softly on the door to Cloud's room before opening it. The omega appeared to be sound asleep in Vincent's arms.

"Well?" Vincent was clearly still angry, not that Tseng could blame him.

He explained his decision about Luxiere and his plan for going forward, which seemed to meet with Vincent's approval. "Sephiroth would like to check in on him, if that's okay."

Vincent raised an eyebrow. "Sephiroth's courting him?"

"Yes. He's also the one who sees him through his heats. Cloud trusts him."

Vincent looked down at the omega in his arms and gave a small nod. "I suppose, just briefly."

Tseng turned and beckoned to Sephiroth, who was waiting well back. Reno was waiting with him as well, and followed behind when Sephiroth approached.

"It's fine, Reno, you can come in too. Is Rude coming?"

"Yeah, he said he can stay the night if that's all right with you."

He nodded. "I don't think Rude being here will bother him as long as he keeps his distance, which I know he will."

Sephiroth slipped past him and crouched by the bed. He ignored his father and gently stroked Cloud's cheek with one finger. Cloud stirred slightly and opened his eyes, prompting Vincent to begin purring again.

"Hey, Cloud. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. I just needed to make sure you were okay." Sephiroth began to push himself up, but paused when Cloud reached for him. He ran his fingers through Sephiroth's hair and grabbed at his hand before slumping back into Vincent and closing his eyes again.

"Well," Vincent said, "that's at least a good response."

XXX

A/N: I'm sorry to Luxiere. I just needed a name and I'm terrible at those. I don't hate him. I mean, he is kind of annoying and creepy, but …