Hiding her primary gender had been but a minor inconvenience for Katie Holt, now known as Pidge Gunderson, just a cut to her hair, some baggy shirts and a pair of glasses and she was no longer a girl but a boy, the exact copy of her big brother, Matt Holt, a little bit shorter. The fact that she was a late-bloomer wasn't that big of a problem, only omegas were not accepted at the Garrison, the military university created to train astronauts, and her engineering prowess got her to the last grade faster than any predecessor, even faster than her genius brother. Suck that Matthew.

Two years prior her brother and her father were sent on the Kerberos mission and vanished in the nothingness, thanks to whatever superior deity watching over this universe the whole crew, aka her brother, her father and Takashi Shirogane, her brother's best friend and one of the best pilots, came back after a year, scarred to life by something that none of them had the courage to talk about. Shirogane, shortened in Shiro, had started to give lectures in her class just a few months after returning and was at the moment one of her favourite professors (not to say one of the sexiest: tall, muscled, broad-shouldered, reading glasses plus a big scar across his face and a mecha-arm, adding to the mysterious aura about him).

Getting back on theme, she was just returning to her dorm-room from an intensive session of study with her two team-mates, Hunk, an anxious, motherly beta, who shared with her a lot of classes, and Lance, a lanky, snarky late-bloomer (just like her) who had a thing (a "rivalry" as he liked to call it) with an Alpha (Keith Kogane, none other than Shiro's adopted little brother, aka Mullet), when out of the blue an intense wave of heat hit her right in the face making her realize that, for once in her life, she hadn't anything under control. Her mind grew dizzy and her knees gave out, all she could think of was finding a shelter where she could hide from dangerous Alphas and how much of a disappointment she was. In a dark alley, in between two corners she found a small enough cave in which to hide, her breaths came in short, ragged puffs and everything hurt because of a white hot flame burning her from the inside out. No wonder that she had felt off the last few days, now at least she knew why, it wasn't a fever, oh no, it was much worse, she was an Omega.

Anxious thoughts started clouding her mind: what if an Alpha found her and took advantage of her? What if one of her teachers found her and kicked her out of the Garrison? What was she going to do about suppressants? Was she going to be able to hide her secondary gender? What would her father and her brother and her friends think about her? Would they be disappointed? Would they worry? Oh God... she couldn't do this to them...

All of a sudden strong arms wrapped around her trembling frame, a strong, Alpha smell washing over her making her still in terror and her mind go blank. Her body reacted on instinct, completely ignoring the fact that she was in a dire situation, she curled against the warm, firm chest and whined miserably, calling out to the Alpha for help. Then her panic kicked in, letting her in control of her own actions, and she started to whimper fearfully. The Alpha started crooning softly next to her ear, trying to calm her, but failing miserably.

"Pidge... Katie... You are safe... It's me, Shiro..." recognizing the voice whispering somewhere near, God had the heat taken it's toll on her, fear was soon replaced by uncertainty, it was safe to say that she was lucky to have been found by him, but he was both an Alpha and a professor, meaning she was probably screwed. Nonetheless pitiful whines kept escaping her lips out of her control, making Shiro worry. Thankfully he seemed to be able to read in her mind: "I'm not going to tell anyone, if that's what's scaring you. I'm not going to hurt you either, but you already know that. And I'm bringing you home, well my apartment, it's not safe to keep you out here any longer..." Not two seconds later she was repositioned and hoisted up, comfortably resting her head on his shoulder, her nose nuzzling his neck, and she felt him stroll, evidently he was avoiding the crowded streets seen as they were cutting across nearly silent alleys.

After a ten minutes walk and three flights of stairs Shiro opened carefully the door to his house thanking God that Katie, now dozing off on his shoulder, was such a light weight. To his omegan pheromones filled nose the house reeked of Alpha, of himself, and, although it shouldn't have come as a surprise, it made him incredibly self-conscious and uncomfortable. Ignoring this in favour of bringing the Omega in a relatively (well, he was still an Alpha) safe place he walked inside, leaving most of their belongings at the door, and went straight for the couch, laying Katie on it. Seeing as she curled in a tight ball he decided to bring her some sheets, in which she swiftly cocooned and nested, covering only about an half of the big couch, a small smile covering hers and the Alpha's lips. He started blushing once she took in his scent and curled even more into it, he could only praise his military education if he was able to keep his Alpha in check, although she was his best friend's sister and his student she was still an Omega in heat, and instincts didn't care about labels.

Looking at the clock he decided to make soup, all the while he kept thinking about what was the best thing to do, his options were kinda limited since he couldn't call her brother or her family in general, maybe her friends? He really hoped that Matt had given him the numbers in one of his protective streaks, he wouldn't like to snoop into someone else's phone…

After cooking the decent-enough dinner he took his phone from his bag and searched in the contacts list, a fist pumping in the air once he found Hunk's number. Since he never seemed to be able to stay still while making a phone call he found himself in his room, nothing special really, and put on some more comfortable clothes than the usual suit he used for work, he had just took on taming his white tuft of hair, that always seemed to return in his eyes, when the kind voice of the beta answered. After explaining what exactly had happened and calming down the near panic attack the guy was in, they agreed on meeting at Shiro's after dinner to discuss the next steps to take.

Pidge woke up from her peaceful nap to a cold hand pressing gently on her forehead, not without some difficulties she sat up, aided by Shiro, still dizzy and disoriented she looked up into his steely grey eyes. Sniffing she redirected her gaze to a tray of food, carefully placed on the coffee table in front of the couch, then looked up again to find a soft smile on the Alpha's face. He took the tray and handed it to her and she gladly took it, blushing furiously because of the not-so-innocent thoughts racing through her mind (her Omega seemed to appreciate Shiro's comfy choice of clothing to extents that Katie wasn't all that comfortable with). She tried to distract herself by making light conversation, hoping for all that was holy that her mind-mouth filter still worked: "Aren't you going to eat?" Yeah, you go Pidge, keep it up, don't make it awkward...

"I already did – he responded with his oh so velvety voice – I wanted to let you wake on your own but heat must have taken its toll on you... Oh, I called Hunk and he told me that this is your first heat... It's normal for it to be painful but please if it becomes unbearable just tell me..." he smiled gently and Katie's heart fluttered strangely in her chest. Since when had Shiro become so sexy? And his scent so mouthwatering? ...Shit, wrong train of thought.

"D-do you happen to know where are my glasses?" This counts as small talk right? She looked around and grimly noticed that: a) she wasn't in her room, b) she was sitting in what should have been a couch but now resembled more a bird's nest than what it was supposed to.

"Here – the soon-not-to-be-anymore-hazy figure offered her the familiar black rimmed glasses and she hastily put them on – also... don't worry about the couch, it's normal to nest during heats" if possible she blushed even more at that and looked at her hands, folded on her lap, next to the tray, which laid untouched on her crossed legs.

"Yeah... but not with your things? Moreover I don't even remember making this mess at all..." she huffed indignantly.

Once again a calm, gentle smile made his way on Shiro's sharp features and he reassured: "Don't worry... It's okay, it's not like you can do anything about it... Anyway just tell me if you need anything at all..."

"Can you stay here with me for a bit?" Holy shit, that was totally not what she wanted to say... Anxiety crept over her, self-deprecating voices asking to be listened to: you are just a weakling, he would never even think of being close to you, he is never gonna say yes, you are a failure even at being an Omega, what's so difficult, little one? You just have to open your legs like the good whore you are... She seemed to share her rambling tendencies with what she like to call her demons...

"Of course, where can I sit? I know that nests are delicate subjects... So yeah, I would like to die on some other occasion..." Shiro tried to laugh it off, seeming to read once again in her mind. Wait, what? Her Omega beamed at not being rejected by the Alpha it was interested in, and Katie blushed at her own giddiness at the idea of being physically close to him. She made space on the couch/nest and patted the place next to her, smiling up at the blushing Shiro (who was internally cursing her cuteness). Soon after he scooted closer to her she realized that being wrapped by his lingering scent on his sheets and furniture was nothing compared to the real thing, and she happily leaned on him, taking even more of it in.

"Eat – Mhhh... assertive Alpha voice... Wait, what the heck? Oh right, Omega... - or it's going to get cold..."He uttered as he moved to readjust their position, dragging her on his lap and leaning on the backrest.

Shiro watched in silence as in probably under five minutes the little Omega wolfed down a him-sized portion of food and curled on him, making him part of her now two-places nest, although he knew that it wasn't properly a good thing to let her sleep on him (both because of her heat and because it just wasn't okay for an Alpha to be in a nest if the Omega wasn't its mate) he didn't have the heart to turn her down. He texted Hunk, who was going to arrive at any moment, the position of his spare keys and their current position, so that the beta wouldn't have to call out to them and possibly wake the slumbering Katie, or Pidge as everyone insisted to call her.

About ten minutes later he heard someone walk up the stairs and then the door creaked open, a sharp intake of breath and stomping feet coming toward the living room later he found himself fearing for his life once again. When Hunk set foot in the room he swore the guy was ready to kill someone (probably Shiro) and have their head served on a silver plate.

"What have you done to her?" A low rippling growl came from the murderous beta, stunning Shiro into silence, he hadn't realized that he and Katie had quite surely scented each other, giving the wrong idea to the brooding figure stalking toward them.

"Nothing. I already told you everything on the phone... – he reasoned – I know our scents mixed, but I can explain: she asked to keep her company while she ate but fell asleep on me right after finishing... I'm sorry, Hunk."

The growling coming from the now calmer guy stopped altogether, his instinct telling him not to challenge the Alpha in his territory: "No, I'm sorry for my disrespect... I didn't mean to attack you. How's she? – a beat of silence – Also... could you please stop growling at me and gripping her like that, it seems painful?" Came his sort of apology together with his anxious motherly streak.

Shiro inhaled slowly and looked down, he hadn't realized what he was doing until Hunk had pointed it out, he released his hold (more like death grip) in Katie, who was nuzzling against his chest and scenting him, trying to calm him with her pheromones. Once he felt like he had put his Alpha down enough he answered: "No problem, really... Sorry if I growled back... I think she is quite well, for this to be her first heat, at least... She slept most of the time since I brought her here..."

A low, admittedly cute, growl ripped from the little Omega's chest: "I feel like shit – she mumbled – Do you really have to talk about me as if I wasn't here, fuckers?" Hunk smiled, Shiro scoffed: "Language, Katie. And sorry, we didn't mean to."

"Sounds like you just fine, Pidge. How are you doing?" rephrased her friendly team-mate.

"Wasn't my previous statement enlightening enough? I feel hot, gross, in pain and aroused at the same time. I have no control whatsoever over what I say or think or do. I should probably start to search for suppressants... Since, you know, the Garrison doesn't accept omegas as students or whatever... And that shit is hella expensive... I'm paying the Academy with my own money but I can't do that if I have to pay for suppressants. Plus I don't want to tell my parents..."

Her rambling was interrupted by a loud growl and Shiro's angered, protective, voice: "Like Hell are you going to take suppressants on my watch! They can completely fuck up your hormones and fertility, even causing cancers..."

And she growled right back: "If you think I'm going to endure this every two months you are deadly wrong! I don't have a mateand I live on my own in a male dormitory, where omegas and females are not accepted! But there's more, I'm not giving up my hopes and dreams just to become some Alpha's lapdog just because of my secondary gender Shiro! It's a promise I made to my brother, I can't disappoint him!"

Shiro's Alpha instinct got the best of him, a powerful rumbling resounding in the room, getting louder as Katie's speech got to right outscreaming to be heard over his growling, making the Omega surrender and go back to its place, submitting obediently.

At the threatening sound Hunk shied away, fearful and unable to take a stand in favour of his friend against the Alpha; he could only watch helplessly as Pidge, headstrong, little and fragile Pidge, responded, sure of her decision, but was soonyelping fearfully and submitting once Shiro extended and showed his fangs, hovering over her trembling form, effectively keeping her caged between himself and the couch.

Katie whined miserably and craned her neck, showing submission, she hated being an Omega, a few hours prior she wouldn't have backed down from a fight, not even against an Alpha, but now she felt weak, completely and utterly defeated. Suddenly a powerful wave of heat washed over her making her whimper and curl on herself, trying to stop the burning in her lower half.

Cold hands cradled her face, Shiro's she realized at the feeling of metal on her right cheek, his thumbs swept on her cheekbones, drying tears she didn't know she had been crying. The growling had stopped in the meanwhile, replaced by a soft apologetic croon. In response to it, blaming her new-found animal instincts, Katie curled even more and whined, grabbing at the Alpha's shirt to tug him closer, basking in his scent and warmth.

Feeling the tiniest little bit out of place Hunk decided that he could settle this… thing… - Oh God why did he think it was a good idea to come here! - later and took his leave in silence and blushing, the sounds in the room not explicitly erotic but really close to that point of no return. Out of the door he took a generous breath and couldn't believe just how clean the air felt, never had he been so close to an angered Alpha and a distressed Omega in heat… Those scents were rightfully intoxicating, good Lord…

While walking towards the small apartment he shared with Lance, he realized something else concerning scents: if Pidge's slight changes in scent in the last days were anything to go by than Lance was probably going to be an Omega too, since his had started to change a few days before Pidge's… Oh shit… How had he not realized that sooner?

His walk broke into a run, a few minutes later he was fumbling with the keys of their first floor flat and barging in, taking in the open floor-to-ceiling window and the smell of heat (clearly Lance's) and Alpha arousal… Oh Holy mother of fuck, couldn't he do just one thing right? At the moaning and grunting coming from a few doors down - Not his room, score! - he realized that whoever was with Lance was clearly enjoying himself as much as his friend and was probably not going to leave any time soon. Leaving a post-it attached to the front door, which sported only the phrase: "I'll be coming back tomorrow morning, Hunk. PS: don't get pregnant, use condoms", he closed it behind himself and took a stroll around the city before redirecting his aimless trip to the dormitories, remembering that Pidge had given him a copy of her keys at the beginning of the year. Well… at least he wasn't sleeping on a bench in the park, the rooms weren't exactly warm but still better thanthe freezing cold November air…

In the meantime Shiro lulled Katie to sleep, her curled form laying across his chest, just like his guilt… What would Matt think about this? Would he want to know? Probably… Would he be angry? At Pidge for being an Omega? Not at all… At him for offering to help her through her heats in exchange of her not taking suppressants? Most probably… Fuck, why had he done that in the first place? He knew it was stupid, but his Alpha's instinct took the wheel… Moreover he was a professor and she a student, one of his to be more precise, so they would have to hide their relationship… unless they mated… which wasn't an option at the moment...Would he be able to lay on the low and not mate her once he actually "helped" her?

A few hours later he fell in an uneasy, dreamless slumber with more doubts on his mind that he'd like to have to handle. And this time it wasn't only about himself.

What woke him up in the morning were the powerful, heavy smell of heat and the little body writhing in pain next to him. Katie was trembling and whimpering, not even the gentle, circular caresses he was leaving along her spine did anything to stop it or relieving it just a tiny, little bit and cuddling seemed to be making things worse, which was strange, the fact that he was so close to her should have had the opposite effect, unless…

"Katie? Are you fighting against your Omega and trying to suppress your heat?" The dry laugh he got in response was way more than enough for him to understand that he was absolutely right and that he had to do something. Why couldn't she just accept herself? What was so wrong about being an Omega?

After a few attempts at making her stop hurting herself uselessly he decided that if he couldn't reason with her he could still try to bring her Omega to the surface. He knew that he was doing something that he was probably going to regret later but in that moment it felt completely right, Shiro let out his Alpha pheromones, effectively engulfing her in his scent, triggering a what he knew would be a blindingly hot wave of heat.

The little thingy squirmed and fought against the pain, trying to resist his Alpha call, but once he got her in his arms she couldn't stand it anymore and let out a loud cry of pleasure mixed with pain. Realization hit him like a truck: he had let out his Alpha completely, he was watching himself moving, not in control of his actions anymore. And his first reaction was fear, of himself, he hadn't let his Alpha take over since Kerberos and even then it wasn't something willing, he had to do it if he wanted to survive the arena he dreamt about every other day, and the words he would describe this other part of him were quite surely violent, wild, out of control and savage, maybe a force to be reckoned with, but nothing flattering for someone human. But looking at himself now he would think he was another person, in another body, in a different world maybe: his Alpha was tender, crooning softly to the Omega sprawled underneath him, calling out to it, asking for permission and cuddling the small, fragile body andtrying to take the suffering away from Katie. He watched, rather helplessly, as his body meshed with the Omega's, getting impossibly close, and his lips met with the overly heated ivory column of her neck.

Katie found herself quite literally caged between Shiro's god-like body and the couch/nest she had been sleeping in. When she looked up and into the Alpha's eyes she was greeted by golden irises, not the steely grey she was used to. And after a brief moment she was not in her body anymore, the sensation so foreign that it caused her heart to skip a beat, it felt just wrong.

Then she remembered the lessons she'd been put through since early age: "it is possible, although not recommended, to let your animal instinct take over in case of emergency or to stop someone from hurting themselves (which counts as an emergency especially if they are suppressing their Alpha/beta/Omega)". Oh… she fell in the category of self-loathing bastards apparently… She realized that probably now her eyes resembled his, which colour though?

She was distracted from her internal ramblings by her – well, not exactly hers anymore – body melting against Shiro's, her chest flush against the Alpha's and her hips grinding up toward his, making pleased shivers run up her spine, moans and mewls of his first name escaping her mouth. Once his lips moved from her tender neck down to her collarbone and then lower Katie couldn't help herself and felt herself arch and shiver in pleasure, the alien fire within sparking to life hotter and stronger than ever before making her moan and press up on the hardness in Shiro's pants, only now really noticing that she was opening her legs like a whore for the Alpha hovering over her.

Shiro's Alpha felt quite offended by the amount of clothing both himself and Katie were still wearing. He realized that Katie was still wearing the Garrison's typical male uniform, minus the jacket she had removed while still in the dark alley, and he watched, admittedly aroused, as his hands tore through the linen and stripped her bare, leaving her in only her undies and bra.

A low moan came from deep within and his hips thrusted up grinding against her core, wet and leaking through her underwear letting a sweet smell fill his nostrils, making him want to dip his nose there as well as his mouth and take it all in. For a moment he feared his Alpha's instinct, he knew that whatever the beast inside of him wanted to do he wouldn't be able to stop from happening, he didn't want to scare or hurt Katie it was her first time with someone (as he had come to know from Hunk) and she had to feel safe and cherished, although her Omega had taken her place, the silvery blue eyes confirming it, she was still there, somewhere. Thankfully though the animal inside of him seemed to be on the same page and let him know by purring softly and racing his hands down her sides, making her squirm, she was ticklish apparently… How cute... He laid back and let him completely in control once he was absolutely sure that he wouldn't force himself on her, and made the feelings the Alpha was filtering wash over him, engulfing him and basking into them, it was so different from the ones he usually blocked out: bloodthirst the most prominent of them.

Concentrating again on the tiny Omega he started nipping at her jaw before leaving a gentle kiss on her warm forehead, earning a soft sigh from her and her hands sneaking under his shirt. He let his hands roam up and down her body, learning every crease and dip of the muscles of her legs, now hooked around his waist, and torso, heaving with heavy breaths and moans, while gently pecking her lips and going lower to nip at the tender skin of her neck. When his hands grazed over her covered hips a jolt of energy brought the two to still, what the heck? Realization hit them at the same time, they smiled at each other. It was universally acknowledged that everyone had a designed soul mate somewhere in the world and everyone had a specific symbol (similar to one of those ancient runes) making it possible to recognize each other and, apparently, they had found their destined. His mark was on his right hip, just like Pidge's, he found by tugging the hem of her panties down just enough to show it.

He searched her now hazel eyes, apparently their instincts decided to let them settle this on their own, and he mentally thanked both of them, knowing that they could still hear him, and found a confused expression instead of the smile he was sporting, similar to the one her Omega had just a few seconds ago.

"What was that, Shiro?" He smiled more, she wasn't rejecting him, she just didn't know what that meant, his Alpha rejoiced at having the opportunity to teach her something so important instead of the stupid technical lectures he usually gave his students. He tugged down the hem of his trousers and boxers to show her the dark rune sitting just to the right of the evident V of his hips.

"This is my soul mate mark… that jolt was because I touched yours, and it recognized me" He felt her suck in a shaky breath and watched as a soft, happy smile broke on her face and the hands gliding on the skin of his abs reached forward to touch the familiar rune. He gave in his desire and kissed her deeply, he would have time for regrets later, but as she responded fiercely they were shoved once again to the back of their heads, their instincts having had enough of their inactivity.

And suddenly what was a semi-innocent act had become two bodies meshing and clashing trying to bring their souls closer, out of their cage of flesh and bones.

Shiro catched Katie's lips in a bruising kiss, the flushed Omega moaning into it and pleading for more. He smirked, aroused by the submissive position she had taken: open of him and with her neck craned, asking for him to claim her, mate her, her heavy, sweet scent engulfing him and making his erection strain his pants. He slid his hands up her torso, reaching for her bra and loosing it, discarding it somewhere in the room (just like all the other clothes he had removed earlier. A tug at his shirt, with a whine accompanying it, made him realize that he was still fully clothed and that it didn't sit well with Katie, swiftly he removed the offending items, remaining only in his underwear, since he didn't intend to do anything, if not please the Omega.

Just as fastly he returned his attention to her, her chest now on display, and went to suck on the small, reddened, perky nipples earning pleased mewls of his name. While working on one with his lips he twisted and played with the other with his fingers, making her arch beautifully toward him. Slowly kissing, licking, and biting down her stomach he made his way to the hem of her undies, but right before he started to slip them off though he felt a tug to his white tuft of hair and looked up, meeting a blushing Omega with open arms, asking him to crawl into them, to which he gladly complied.

Katie was once again engulfed in his arms, his scent reassuring and familiar, her mouth met his in a slow loving kiss, her hands reaching for his boxers and tugging them down, earning a low chuckle from her soul mate. In a swift movement Shiro got rid of them, she realized and since there wasn't any reason for her to feel self-conscious she gave in her curiosity and slid her hands down his chest, like she had done before, caressed the tantalizing V framing his muscular hips, and gently, tentatively reached for his hard, leaking, freakishly big length, at which her Omega was already purring in anticipation. She felt him suck in a breath, his cock twitching in her feather-like hold, and rock his hips forward, effectively making it slide between her fingers, making her feel just how warm, rock hard, and velvety it was. Their lips met again, this time in a hungry demanding kiss making her moan into it. It was her turn to suck in a shuddering breath, Shiro's hand reaching down her body, tearing the cotton of her underwear and reaching for her wet, hot core.

Shiro smirked at her reaction, proud of having such an influence on her, wanting to hear more of her moans and lewd sounds he let his fingers slide between her lower lips, feeling around her hot vulva and then settling on her clitoris, moving in circular motions over it, applying just enough pressure to make her whimper in pleasure but not enough to hurt her. His smirk deepened as a low groan emitted from low in his throat at the feeling of Katie's small hand gently moving awkwardly on his length, reminding him that the bold Omega was, in fact, inexperienced and probably needed guidance. He decided to take it slow and let her try out what she felt comfortable with. He moved just so as to be able to enter her with a finger and still keep rubbing on her clit without having to use two hands and kissed her deeply, making her moan into it and cry out his name just as he hit the right spot inside her. He started trailing kisses down her body, sucking on the most sensible spots, and nipping, making her mewl even more.

Katie's hand fell into the Alpha's hair out of its own accord, weaving and tugging at the already messed up tuft of white, earning a low possessive growl every time her tugs became more forceful.

She opened her mouth in a silent scream as she felt Shiro's lips reach way lower than she thought and latched onto her lower lips and parted them, slowly sweeping over the fluids escaping from her vagina with his tongue, and then stopped on her clit, licking it and sucking, stealing her breath away. It didn't take too long for her vision to go completely black and for her to come into his mouth with a loud cry of his name, that felt absolutely right falling from her lips.

Right after she climaxed Shiro rested his cheek against her thigh and watched as her body went limp, her chest heaving with heavy breaths, as she came down from her high. He licked his lips, tasting her on them, sweet and intoxicating, and slowly moved to cradle her in his arms, her tiny form fitting perfectly in them.

He realized that the heat was probably giving her a break and that if he was lucky she would drift asleep, letting him take a much-needed cold shower, although he really did hope that it worked, because his Alpha was giving him a hard time at relaxing and concentrating on something other than the Omega laying next to him (redirecting his thoughts on how Katie had craned her neck submissively and he hadn't marked her, mostly… there were also other thoughts, definitively less innocent, making him blush).

Sometime in between a thought and another his now steely eyes met her amber ones, clouded by pleasure and sleepiness, and he couldn't help the smile playing on his lips when she let out the cutest yawn he had ever heard. Not a minute later, passed in searching for the most comfortable curled position, aka her usual ball, Katie was out like a light, soft breaths and sighs escaping her lips.

Shiro leisurely strolled in the kitchen to grab something to eat and make some coffee, if Matt hadn't lied about his sister's strange, and sometimes self destructing, habits, one of them was to run mainly on coffee and caffeinated things to be able to study for longer hours. His Alpha reminded him to make some more nutritive food for the Omega, seen as heats usually burn a lot of calories, in particular if there's an Alpha to take care of them. Looking at the clock and noting, not without some hindered pleasure and happiness, that it was already too late for him to go to the morning lectures (and thankfully his phone automatically alerted the Garrison of his absence if he didn't hit the sneeze after three wake up calls), which he didn't usually had signed to do, unless he was feeling a lot better about his PTSD, which he had learned to not underestimate after a few failed attempts at crawling out of bed anyway.

He realized that since he was cooking he could be making lunch as well to not lose too much time on cleaning afterwards, instead being able to take care of Katie. But, not to make it get cold, he agreed with himself that he would go get a shower, possibly cold, beforehand.

Pidge woke up to a mouthwatering smell, making her stomach growl, just as loud as the purr of her Omega, telling her that it was her Alpha cooking for her. Too lazy to search for the discarded items of clothing, she wrapped a sheet around herself. Stretching and yawning she made her way toward the place from where that alluring smell was originating, stumbling a bit on the hem of the enormous bed sheet.

"Morning Shiro~, what are you doing?" her sleepy voice, accompanied by a lengthy yawn, made the Alpha in question smile to himself, while the tiny Omega was rubbing her eyes under the lenses, trying to make her vision clearer. Once she succeeded Katie wasn't as convinced about that decision: Shiro stood at the counter, his backside leaning onto it, ankles and arms crossed, only in a pair of sweatpants, from the hem of which she could see the boxers, his toned upper muscles (and she knew just how toned his lower half was, too) tensing and twitching under the tanned skin jarred by pale scars he got during the Kerberos mission. How was a body like that not illegal? Moreover, who the fuck cooks with only a pair of sweats on?

"Morning Katie, I'm making lunch since is nearly midday… Would you like some coffee anyway?" At the mention of her precious heart attack juice a smile broke on her face and she jumped on the balls of her feet, excitedly squeaking, which sounded more like moaning really: "Oh yes, please~" Thinking about it in hindsight reaching for the cup sitting in the Alpha's hands with both of hers, while she hadn't actually fastened the sheet around herself previously, hadn't been one of her brightest moves.

She felt the man in front of her suck in a breath and let out a low rumbling growl, that made her inside shiver and her heat spike up again. Trying to not make him uncomfortable, although it was probably too late, she bent to tug the sheet over her body and secured it safely around her shoulder, effectively covering herself from there down, all the while muttering apologies. Once she found it in herself to look up again she was met by a flushed face, awkward eyes looking everywhere but at her, and the damned coffee cup still extended toward her. The look on the Alpha's face making her giggle, it was just too out of place for him to be embarrassed since that face had been way lower then her breasts a few hours prior.

She grabbed the cup and looked down into the dark heaven inside it, she was already missing it: the powerful, bitter smell kissing her nostrils making her sigh in content, the black of the liquid, just as black as her soul as she liked to joke, the rush of caffeine setting in her brain just after a few sips...

Her steam of thoughts was interrupted by heavy hands setting on her hips and hoisting her up to the counter, effectively making her sit on it. Once she broke out of her stupor she returned to watch the owner of those hands move once again toward the stoves bubbling on the fires a few feet away.

"Lunch should be ready in 5" Came the soft voice of the man moving a few plates around and checking the food before making portions - just as hot as his Alpha's one~, chimed her Omega.

"Can't wait if the smell is anything to go by… - she mewled out... Oh well, she'd better give up at not sounding lewd during heats – this is going to be the best meal I've had in a while" She thought aloud after a short pause while sipping on her beverage, not at all expecting her mate (although she shouldn't be calling him that, since he hadn't actually marked her…) to growl disapprovingly.

"Are you serious, Katie? This takes no longer than 15 minutes to be prepared and you're telling me that you usually eat worse than this? Do you really live on caffeine?" A steely glare met her unimpressed eyes as she scoffed: "Do you think I have time? The answer is no by the way, and it's none of your business whether I eat or not!" Her Omega reminded her not to stand up to her Alpha, advice that she gladly ignored.

Shiro was baffled: How could she think it didn't concern him? More importantly, why didn't she eat properly? His instinct took over, his anger spiking up and making him growl once again: "It is my business since you are my mate! And you need to eat properly, how did you even manage to convince your parents to let you live on your own if you can't even take care of yourself!"

He watched as she realized the risks she was taking, evaluated them, and responded, her stubbornness winning against her fears: "Really?Shall I remind you that you are a teacher and I a student? It isn't like we can be together... I'm okay with you helping me out during heats, in exchange of me not taking suppressants, but we wouldn't work together as a couple... well, actually, it's more like I can't work with anyone... - suddenly all the fight escaped her tone and what remained was but a ghost of the usual Katie he admired, bubbly and headstrong, not sad and defeated – What are we supposed to do now? We are soul mates and I'm ecstatic about that, I didn't even believe I'd ever find you, but you are here... But, at the same time, I can't just barge into your life like a shipwreck and change, or probably ruin, everything... You have already gone through so much, if my brother's PTSD is anything to go by you are not faring any better..." She was mumbling, her eyes downcast, boring into what remained of her coffee, her knuckles turning white with how hard she was gripping the cup. He got closer to her, completely ignored, and removed it from her hands, setting it on the counter, just a little bit away. He wrapped his strong arms around her shoulders in a comforting manner, a soft croon emitting from deep within, his nose tracing along her jugular, caressing her scent glands, slowly calming her down.

Shiro had to admit that Katie had a point, but he couldn't care less about his career, it wasn't like he had chosen it, he had to do it to survive, but he could search somewhere else, or, if he was lucky, keep teaching there. Anyway he would gladly give it all up if that meant not giving up the most important thing: HIS Omega. He hadn't thought that she could be self-deprecating because of not being able to protect her brother and her father, he knew that she was using the code name because she wasn't welcome into the Garrison after hacking their system to find informations about the Kerberos mission, but why had she searched specifically for him too? Why did she feel the need to protect him now? He rapidly came to the conclusion that asking her now wouldn't be a smooth move since she was still breathing hard (probably because of the near panic attack she just had), and also because he didn't like going back to the same mission that destroyed whatever he believed in before embarking.

He hoisted her up on his robotic arm (which was all but robotic really, since he could still feel what he was touching, but was still stronger than a normal one), making her wrap her legs around his torso, her arms going around his shoulders, and her face nuzzling in the crook of his neck. With his free arm he took two filled plates, carefully balancing them, before strolling back into the living room. Gently he sat in the nest, with the Omega still holding onto him like a koala, now calmer than before, and sat the plates on the coffee table next to them. Prying her face from his neck revealed itself to be a tricky task since she whined every time making him stop, at the end he managed to coax her with food, which she gladly took and wolfed down once again, as he controlled that she wasn't eating in a way that could bring her harm. As he was watching her fall asleep on his lap, satiated and tired, her heat taking over as soon as she had had enough energies, he realized that he'd had to bring up her doubts and worries sooner or later if he wanted to make their possible relationship work out, but, for once, he agreed with himself that later sounded way better.