Chapter 1

Staying by Kurapika's side meant interfering with whatever he had planned during the course of this journey, despite his convictions that he could handle everything on his own. Kuroro was never one to listen—he would be damned if he let his mate get himself killed when they had come this far.

Cold air rushed past Kuroro, raising goosebumps on his skin, and he wrapped his arms around himself for the bare warmth it provided. His jacket wasn't as warm as it could have been, but the heavy material was a relief against the chill of the wind. Only three days outside of camp, and he was already wavering on his feet, just barely able to walk let alone guard them from whatever horrors the Dark Continent may conjure.

Silence stretched between them, punctured only by the sound of grass and stones beneath their shoes, and Kurapika drew a sharp breath before stopping in his tracks. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Kurapika turned his gaze towards him for a brief moment, before returning his attention to the forest. The stamina that Kurapika possessed was compelling, and he had to ignore the concerned looks that continued to be shot his way. His irritation seemed to have simmered now, buried away.

It was quiet, but there was an edge to Kurapika's tone, the stubborn insistence to do it alone. "You still won't trust me?"

"You are more than capable of taking care of yourself," Kuroro answered, something that he had assured Kurapika more than once in the past. "But it seemed unwise for you to venture in this kind of place without assistance. A few days have passed and even between the two of us, we have yet to find what you're looking for."

Kurapika said nothing in response, but the tense line of his shoulders relaxed a bit, slumping into something more natural. He began walking again, slowing his steps to remain beside Kuroro rather than moving ahead like usual. Without the danger and threats between them, they had exchanged a fair amount of information, though not enough that they possessed complete knowledge of each other's motivations during this expedition.

It was evidently too much to ask that Hui Guo Rou's succession war be contained during the voyage. The remaining princes—and by extension, their bodyguards, were assigned missions to accomplish in order to challenge their right to the throne. If it were up to Kuroro, he would have abandoned the duty to the Kakin princes long ago—but this was Kurapika's decision and he was intent on ensuring that his employers remained free from harm.

The forest became thicker as the day wore on, with the trees leaning heavily over them and blocking the warmth from the sun. They had been trekking through trees for hours now, and Kuroro became increasingly restless as their surroundings grew dark and oppressive.

In a stroke of luck, Kurapika felt the wind change in time for them to seek out shelter, darting down the path between overgrown greenery and into a deep cave. It was dry and spacious enough for two people, and Kurapika wasted no time with kindling a fire to ward off the chill. Caution made Kuroro hesitate, but he decided that they would be fine for a few hours.

From the mouth of the cave, he witnessed the greenery tremble from the onslaught of rain, heavy enough to drench them to the bone in moments. Their clothes were disheveled and dirty, and despite that their situation could have been worse, it could have been much better too. He busied himself with retrieving new sets of clothing and food from the Fun Fun Cloth, handing Kurapika his backpack as he looked for his own.

"Thanks," Kurapika murmured, with the first smile Kuroro had seen in awhile. He unwrapped a ration bar before taking an unenthusiastic bite out of it. "That ability is probably the only advantage to you coming with me."

"You have no idea how useful I can be," Kuroro answered with a grin of his own.

There was a quiet hum, as if he wasn't entirely convinced. As Kuroro shrugged off his jacket and the rest of his clothing, he kept his eyes on his hands, breaking off pieces of the bar as he consumed them. Kuroro would be lying if he wasn't feeling a tad disappointed at Kurapika's disinterest, but he couldn't be blamed considering how exhausting the past few days were. He pulled on a new shirt and loose pants, and laid his jacket on the ground so he could sit on it.

Despite that he was now dressed in clean clothing and had no risk of dying from exposure, his mood didn't improve at all. He seated himself close to Kurapika and now that he could pay attention properly, he took a careful breath, breathed in his scent, and found a slight change as Kurapika noticed him.

It was easy to feel the faint pangs of hunger, rising from the instinctive parts of him rather than from a lack of nourishment, warm and bitterly familiar. He caught the sight of Kurapika taking a drink from his water bottle and procuring a nondescript bottle of pills, and Kuroro found himself swallowing in turn. Kurapika shook out a small pill into his palm and swallowed it down, routine evident in his consumption.

"I thought you stopped taking suppressants."

"I would prefer that no one else finds out about my status."

"Why?"

Kurapika cast him a sharp glance. "You wouldn't understand. You've probably been an Alpha your entire life."

"I presented when I was a teenager. Around fourteen, I believe."

"Older than me. I was twelve when—" Kurapika stopped short and hesitated.

Kuroro had a semblance of understanding. He had fought for survival, for vengeance, living with grief and remembering every moment of every day of what it was that he had lost. The anger had burned away, leaving only the ache in his heart that nothing would be the same again.

"My first rut was terrifying," Kuroro said in an attempt to lighten the mood between them, but the low heat in his abdomen revealed he was anything but joking. "It was so painful that I passed out in the middle of the road, but my friends were there to help me through it."

"Helped you," Kurapika repeated with a raised eyebrow, in a tone that suggested suspicion.

"As in, they ensured that I didn't die." He rested his head against Kurapika's shoulder in reassurance. He remembered how the first thing that he noticed was his heightened sense of smell, how he felt lightheaded from the fragrances of incense and perfume wafting from his friends. He ended up spending most of his time outside, only able to tolerate the cool air of the evening.

The feverish dreams soon followed, with him waking with a start in cold sweat, curled up with a relentless ache twisting throughout his entire body, with no one to call his own. "I'll have you know that I'm a faithful man."

Kurapika snorted. "I'm sure."

He stayed in that position for a long moment, and then there were fingers sweeping through his hair, slow and gentle. He focused on the repetitive movement, finding that it was comforting, a light feeling that was nearly buoyant. Kurapika was like a second presence to him—as if there was a part of him that did not belong to him.

"I've seen it happen too often," Kuroro spoke quietly, as if he was imparting the most important secret of all, that he had been the one to sever so many of these bonds, "the loss of a mate—that you don't die when your other half dies."

"And that isn't a good thing?"

Kuroro laughed, soft and poignant. "Not when you have to live with the inescapable pain that comes with the loss. You don't die, but for the rest of your life, you wished that you had."

It was an enigma—how he, connoisseur of all things tangible, became so invested in the fiction of soulmates and intimacy. He shifted so that he could gently pull Kurapika into his lap, pressing his chest against his back, and the touch was unexpected enough to make Kurapika shiver. He buried his nose against his neck, breathing in the scent of his skin, and Kurapika leaned closer to him without hesitation.

His lips settled on the nape of Kurapika's neck. Kuroro heard him stutter out a quiet gasp as he moved closer to the bite mark, where Kuroro had marked him, claimed him as his own, and it took everything not to leave another bite in its wake.

"Kuroro." Kurapika's eyes became heavy-lidded as he looked back at him. "Kuroro, what's going on?"

He found himself grinding against Kurapika's backside, which could only mean one thing. Just as he came to his senses, he retracted his grip from Kurapika as if he had just been burned.

He couldn't. He couldn't face the loss of control that came with it, not here, not now.

It was one thing to act on his desires when they were in the comfort of their bedrooms, but it was an entirely different thing to do so when they were at the mercy of nature in an uncharted land.

"It's my rut," Kuroro admitted in a carefully controlled tone, belied by the tension-tight hunger of their bond. He didn't particularly enjoy feeling vulnerable, but there wasn't another term that could apply in this situation. He dragged himself back under control, and tried to shake off the heat that was smoldering deep within him.

"I shouldn't force this upon you—"

"Kuroro," Kurapika repeated, and the warmth in his voice was softer than what he knew what to do with. "It's fine."

"I don't know if I can be gentle."

Kurapika turned towards him now, so that they were facing one another. His hands moved to the sides of Kuroro's face, startling hot, and he leaned down until their noses brushed. His entire line of vision became composed of only a halo of blond hair, flushed cheeks, and crimson eyes.

A contemplative look flickered across his features, before he pulled Kuroro closer and slowly closed the space between them, effectively stealing the words from his lips. It drew a hungry sound from Kuroro, a wash of power that lingered at the back of his throat, and he returned the kiss, harsh and desperate. Kurapika was the one to ease the kiss back, until he was pressing his lips gently against the edge of Kuroro's mouth.

Kurapika made a soft sound as they separated, flushed and breathless. His blond hair fell messily around his face and Kuroro extended his hand to caress his cheek, tucking his hair behind one ear. There was something mesmerizing in how the gentle glow of the fire fell along his features a little softer, like the sun was trapped and spun into hair, and it pulled him in all the more. Kuroro couldn't recall a single time in his life that he wanted someone this much, in the most unforeseen of circumstances.

Kurapika closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, placing his own hand over Kuroro's own in assurance.

"I'll trust you."

Please read my other two fics, Nightshade and Narcissus first to learn more about my omegaverse AU.

Thanks for your patience with this fic! A lot of things changed in my life during the past few months. I received my degree and I'm a working professional now, but I still want to apply to medical school sometime in the near future.

The reason why this took so long to upload was that I was uncertain of how to write the Dark Continent arc. Because Kurapika's mission of retrieving the eyes and Kuroro's desire to steal the Kakin treasure could be resolved during the Black Whale arc, there wasn't really a point to set this during the Dark Continent.

However, a multichapter fic on the Dark Continent does not exist and I have the ability to put Kuroro and Kurapika through some more serious trials and tribulations, so this fic was a product of those realizations. I managed to barely upload this in time for September 4th, the day that Kuroro and Kurapika meet in the Yorknew arc.

Also, I've pretty much accepted Lynlyn's fic as canon. Seriously, go (re)read that masterpiece.

Please note that I will not focus too much on action/adventure/worldbuilding. Because this is an omegaverse series, the focus of this fic will still be on that trope. In regards to the length of the chapters, my wrist has not healed yet and it has been difficult for me to type longer chapters, but I will compensate with the quantity of the chapters. Please feel free to leave a comment!