bakerstreet | Stuck in this rut

Stuck in this rut

THE IN HEAT/IN RUT AU MEME
not an alpha/beta/omega meme

There's no need for elaborate backstories for this AU. You go into heat, rut, whatever you'd like to call it. You've always done so since you were of age to do so. It's a socially accepted norm, and people have gotten used to the difficulties that come with the mating seasons. Life goes on.

Isn't this alpha/beta/omega, then? No, not at all. In this meme, there are no gender-variant genitalia unless your character comes prepackaged with those. No giant cocks - again, unless your character is already packing - or self-lubricating assholes or anal wombs, and no knotting. Unless that's your thing. There's also no set in stone roles with regards to dominance and submission, and some people do not even feel the inclination towards either. Still, there are a few similarities, mainly being that the pheromones of others can put someone into heat that was not in it before and the bond between mates. In addition, some humans/human-stand-ins have created packlike dynamics in response, but this is not universal.

In this meme, it's just regular old human...oids feeling the urge for sex. And by "urge," we of course mean all-consuming drive. If characters choose to ignore that urge, it will backfire on them. The more they put it off, the more they will lose their control, becoming more irritable and aggressive, and eventually be nothing but a rutting animal until the need to mate is satisfied. Not all heats call for mating, of course, and most people can just relieve themselves, but when you do mate, you feel the urge to stay by their side and essentially "nest." These desires don't always pan out into offspring, and mating isn't forever unless it's mutually decided upon. However, impregnating your mate is said to be one of the most euphoric experiences a person can have, even if some people only mate because they want to utterly possess someone, as mates are bonded for a while.

If there's anything that's to your fancy that's been left out, go ahead and add it in. Play it how you'd like!

HOW TO PLAY

Comment with your character and preferences.

Include what you're interested and not interested in.

Respond to others!

PROMPTS

first heat: Baby's first heat. YOU'RE A TEENAGER/LATE BLOOMER AND WHAT IS THIS?

old hand: You've done this a million times, but it never gets any easier.

happen to be here: You're not picky. You can't afford to be. You'll take anybody who's nearby.

old faithful: You're going to the person you always go to in order to relieve your problem.

worked something out: The two of you aren't involved. You just help each other out.

unexpected: You never expected to rut with this person, but here you are.

forbidden: AKA the obligatory incest or age difference option.

volunteer: You've offered yourself up out of the kindness of your heart.

tribute: This isn't your offer. You're the offer from others, a gift for someone powerful to sate their appetite.

mating: You've decided to go one step further and make your relationship deeper.

nesting: Aaah, (temporary) domestic bliss. And lots of fucking. Lots and lots of fucking. Like, you'll barely be able to stand.

bonding: The bond, which is mildly psychic and intensely physical, makes sex even more intense.

the natural conclusion: Heat calls for pregnancy. Get someone pregnant.

already pregnant: Unfortunately, being knocked up doesn't abate your partner's desires. Or yours.

mates for life: Now you're absolutely certain that you want to be with no one else. Of course, this means you'll be in synch with their heat for the rest of forever.

save you: You've been saved from the advances of an undesired mate by someone who may be much more suited. Show your gratitude?

cockfight: Two people want the same mate. That won't do. There are ways to figure that out, not always involving fists.

increase in dominance: Exactly what it says.

increase in submission: Again, exactly what it says.

unexpected dominance: No one expects you to ever be dominant. Prove them wrong.

protect: You want to protect your mate from others, and that means putting your scent all over them.

set off by someone else: You were doing fine until you got a whiff of someone else's pheromones.

resisting temptation: Your heart belongs to someone. You want to stay out of this "heat" thing. You want to rise above it. Whatever it may be, you just have to not take the bait. Easier said than done.

all worked up: You're beginning to lose control and yourself. Quick, do something before you're jumping anything that moves.

pack: As mentioned prior, some people, especially those far out from civilization proper, have formed packs that hold to the more traditional alpha structure. Of course, these packs come with their own rules when it comes to heat and mating.

suitable partner: The desire for certain mates can come from a subconscious level, and you can find yourself aroused by someone showing how strong they are (they can protect you), how curvaceous they look (that must mean they're fertile), or any other number of traits that can benefit you.

desperation: You'll take anyone! Anything!

final release: You've reached your breaking point and your mindless. At least you'll get relief.

fighter: Part of your process is seeing who's worthy of you by testing their mettle. That, or you want to fight anything.

off your meds: It's fairly rare, but some can get blockers for their heat. What if those blockers run out? Why, it makes your heat ten times worse!

noncon: They don't want this. You don't want to stop this.

dubcon: You say no, but your body says yes and you can't stop loving it.

calm you down: Whether it's to fuck or to fight, you're going mad, and they have to bring you back down to Earth.

territorial: How dare someone look at what belongs to you? You'll have to make things right.

odd man out: For some reason, you don't go into heat. Never have. Being with you is pretty relaxing, and some find it appealing to not have to deal with pheromones that aren't theirs. You do have to learn how to appreciate their problems, though.

WILDCARD

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Is it so wild that I’m worried? I know, you can handle it. It doesn’t mean I won’t stress about it. Manuela said what you’ve been doing is hell on your body.

( sylvain won’t lecture him. he gets the reasoning. he just wants to make sure this isn’t completely hellish for felix.

his hand twitches just a bit. he… wants to comfort him. somehow. someway. )

[ oh, it's going to be hellish. felix knows it will be; he knows he should have been allowing his heats to happen at least every so often. pushing it off as long as he has, the suppressants had finally stopped being able to keep it at bay, and now he's going to have to deal with that.

he'd just hoped it would have been, you know, after the war. ]

I'll live. You don't have to worry about it.

[ this is barely scratching the surface, though. the onset was sudden enough, but once it hits, felix is going to be miserable. ]

( that doesn’t ease his worry. even so…

sylvain glances over to his jacket, pleased to see felix hadn’t chucked it in the hall. good. his eyes drift back to him again. )

Is there anything else I can do to help? ( not like felix would ask. still… sylvain wants to do something as wildly domestic as pet his hair. )

[ there are a lot of things sylvain could to do help. a lot of things felix will never bring himself to ask for. ]

You know there isn't.

[ sylvain may be an alpha, but he knows that, once felix's actual heat hits, he won't be able to be here. ]

( a sigh. yeah, figures.

he turns his hand over, palm upturned. )

Here. At least let me do this.

( how utterly specific. )

[ felix stares at sylvain's palm. his resolve to not allow any help wavers at the sight of it, and finally, with an annoyed sigh, he relents. ]

Fine.

[ this is just... what a friend would do for a friend. it can't hurt, and felix would really take almost anything to help him once it starts properly. ]

( cool. so very cool. act normal.

sylvain nods and reaches out to very gently drag the inside of his wrist against felix’s. he’s… never purposely tried to scent someone before. it’s actually letting him smell felix. it’s kind of intoxicating and divine in equal measures. )

[ felix keeps himself very still. he does not allow himself to move at all, as if doing so will break some sort of rule he's set for himself. maybe it will. this is the first time felix has ever allowed anyone to scent him, the first time anyone has tried, and it figures that it would be sylvain.

it's... warm. at first, the scent is faint, but then it reaches felix, mingles with his own, and-

oh. this was a bad idea. the room is hot. ]

( sylvain feels content. like he’s actually at home somewhere that isn’t filled with hostility and unfair expectations. it’s warm. it’s nice. of course it’d be felix.

his fingers curl ever so gently into the crook of felix’s palm as he scents him. sylvain isn’t so dumb as to try to scent his neck so this will have to do, with him seated on the floor like a dutiful friend that isn’t at all inadvertently trying to court his best friend who he wasn’t even sure was an omega until today.

but. he’s smiling. )

[ this helps more than the tea. it's like a warmth settles over felix, but it's not an agonizing one; it's something he wants to curl into, but stubbornness wins out. he won't do anything of the sort until sylvain is gone.

he tells himself it's nothing to do with the fact that it's sylvain in particular, and that this is only for the sake of helping felix get back on his feet and not any other reason. there are absolutely no other reasons it could be. he clutches the jacket sylvain had given him. ]

...you shouldn't do this.

[ people will get the wrong idea. felix will get the wrong idea, even though he's the one who just told sylvain to go ahead. ]

( sylvain is suddenly very against leaving in general. what if something comes by? what if his heat is so bad he hurts himself? there’s a rush of protectiveness that fills sylvain as he slips his fingers just briefly into the gaps of felix’s. )

You can trust me.

( he won’t overstep. he won’t make anything weird between them. he won’t…

he dips his head down for a second, dangerously close to felix’s wrist. breathes. … and then sits back a little to give them some space. fuck. )

[ sylvain's fingers are warm, and when he gets closer, his scent grows stronger. it settles under felix's skin and makes his thoughts slightly fuzzy, and when sylvain pulls back, something in him aches more than it had before.

of course he can trust sylvain. that's not the issue. ]

I know. [ uncharacteristically honest. ] I don't want you to see this.

[ and maybe felix doesn't trust himself. not that he'd do anything sylvain doesn't want, but the first time, he'd been near inconsolable. it was awful, and mortifying. it's part of the reason felix has put this off for such a long time. if there's anything he hates, it's not being in control of himself. ]

Felix.

( sylvain’s voice is warm and drenched in quiet understanding. how had he not realized that was the issue? why did he think felix had issue with it being sylvain lingering nearby?

he shakes his head. his fingertips just barely remain grazed at the edges of felix’s, fully ready to slip away at a moment’s notice. )

There’s nothing you could do that would change how I think of you.

[ annoying. sylvain always has to be so supportive, doesn't he? it makes it incredibly difficult to force him out, even though felix knows he needs to, and the sooner the better. ]

Stupid. You have no idea.

[ an insult, but it sounds more exasperated than actually angry, and sylvain should know the difference. ]

Have a few guesses.

( sylvain shrugs and he finally, finally pulls his hand away, breaking all contact between them. it feels like felix’s scent clings to his skin. that’ll… be on his mind the rest of the night. definitely.

slowly, he starts to stand. )

If you need anything, knock, okay? Well. Actually. I’ll just leave the door unlocked.

( a nod, as if convincing himself of that. )

[ as soon as sylvain pulls away, felix is unsettled. he knows it's just the pre-heat brain, but he wants to pull sylvain back into his space. he swallows down the urge, reminding himself he has the jacket - just in case - and that sylvain's scent is on his skin, if he needs it. it's really not as big a deal as his body is telling him it is. ]

I'm not going to need anything.

[ except maybe some water. manuela will probably bring that in the morning. but the thought of sylvain's door being unlocked in case he does need something is slightly comforting.

not as comforting as sylvain's hand had been. ]

Right.

( sylvain is too tired to argue that moot point. he stretches his arms above his head and tries not to dwell on how nice their scents mingle and how he really doesn’t want to leave.

one more big exhale and he heads for the door, fingertips lingering on the doorframe. )

Goodnight, Felix. Try and get some rest. ( sylvain has a sneaking suspicion he won’t be getting much on his end, either. )

[ felix wants to call him back. he wants to ask sylvain to stay, and watching him at the door makes everything feel wrong. felix knows the abandonment is just his imagination, and that sylvain would come running if he asked, but-

he absolutely can't do that. ]

I'm fine. [ one final insistence. ] Night.

( sylvain gently closes the door.

back at his own room, he stares at the ceiling. he lifts his wrist up into the air and stares at the spot where he had slotted their wrists together, scent glands so delicately grazing. and he sighs. loudly.

again, it’s not like he hasn’t felt this way for awhile. it’s just that he’s never had any reason to think there was truly something there. now, there’s this wild thing kind of like hope in his chest. and fuck that.

he closes his eyes and tries to get some sleep, wrist tucked up against his head. )

[ when sylvain leaves, felix gives up on his resolve. he brings the jacket close to his face, trying to alleviate the feeling of being alone that settles in the pit of his stomach.

and for a while, it helps. he manages to fall asleep, though it's fitful and dreamless, and when he wakes up, felix has managed to sprawl himself out over the bed, overheated and sweaty. his stomach hurts, his body aches. he's thinking about sylvain.

it would be so easy to just... pad over to his room. to crawl into his bed like he used to when he was smaller, and things were easier. and thinking about that makes the ache in felix's chest worse.

he's thirsty. he'd finished the tea from earlier. half-dazed, he rolls over and shoves his face into the jacket. it's really only going to get worse from here, isn't it? ]

( sylvain keeps waking up. the old creaks of the building make him think felix has finally decided to lean into their connection and trust and let sylvain help. no such luck.

sylvain runs at his eyes. it’s nearly dawn and he can’t stop thinking about pressing his nose to felix’s nape and drinking in his scent and soothing whatever stress he may be feeling brought on by his heat. )

Fuck.

( he really can’t keep this up, can he? knowing how felix smells and that he’s an omega and—

sylvain pinches the bridge of his nose. he needs to think. )

[ felix is feverish and half-delirious, driven by the scent of the jacket, and where it had been rubbed against his arm. his own room is the safest place for him to be, but it doesn't smell like sylvain, and that's what has him dragging himself out of the bed, stomach churning and legs shaky.

sylvain had told him to come if he needed anything. well, felix needs... something. his brain isn't really processing what he's going to ask for, just that he should accept the offer, and that's what has him tapping unevenly at the wood of sylvain's door. ]

( sylvain… wasn’t expecting a knock. ever.

he blinks up at the ceiling. quickly, he shuffles out of the bed and gently pulls the door open. it’s dark and he has to squint a little — )

Felix? ( his own voice sounds hoarse, rough from being in and out of sleep. )

[ if he were more lucid, felix would cut his own arm off rather than knock at sylvain's door. but he's... anxious, hot, thirsty. the only thing in his head is that sylvain can fix all those things.

but now that sylvain is standing in front of him, felix doesn't know what to say. he opens his mouth, clearly struggling with himself. ]

I'm- [ oh, god. ] Thirsty.

( ????

oh.

sylvain groggily rubs at his eyes but quickly turns away to grab for the pitcher of water he usually keeps by his bed. he leaves the door open. )

Sit down. ( he says it between a yawn, pouring a glass kf water. )

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