at_heart | [ a/b/o fluri AU ]

wherein: most people are either A, B, or O, but Yuri and Flynn share a fourth aspect: T, theta, a fluid type that shifts between A and O. Switches can be triggered by any number of things — stress, exposure to dense aer, etc — but left to their own devices, they alternate. A heat followed by a rut followed by a heat followed by a rut. ~~Once pair-bonded, they'll also synchronize, alternating together.~~
Terca Lumireis has a gel type that's specifically for suppressing heats and ruts, as well as scent-blocking cologne.
Flynn was an early bloomer and Yuri kind of late, and suppressants and scent-blockers are both very much The Done Thing in the barracks, so they missed the chance to discover they shared an aspect. ~~Flynn may or may not have shyly begged the Comet innkeeper for a separate cot when he started Noticing his friend.~~
Yuri's real scents tend savory: rosemary and thyme. Flynn's tend sweeter: honeysuckle and mint.
Mostly the events of the game have been otherwise unchanged, though Yuri and Estelle did have one very awkward conversation when he first pushed his luck on the journey (he has a terrible habit of not taking his suppressants on time); she'd assumed he was an alpha, and was surprised and shyly interested when she caught his omega-mode scent. He gently rebuffed her, both because he very much does not see her that way and because he's never had any interest in having a partner for either his heats or his ruts. Estelle was surprised and a tiny bit confused, because... isn't this something alphas are supposed to help omegas with? She'd always thought of it as an important, almost chivalrous duty.
(Also, there's Rita. Eventually Estelle will realize she's an actual omega, and then they'll be very happy together. Yuri just wants an invite to your wedding, Estelle, and he's sure it'll happen sooner rather than later.)
But. But.
The 'duel' at Aurnion, all those endorphins and all that release, is exactly the sort of thing that might affect theta cycles. :> So.

[ It was a good fight. It was — easily the best fight he's ever had. And not just because he won (won!), although that's definitely... a bright shiny warm bubble in his chest, relief and release and... happiness that lingers in him even as the sound of their mingled laughter fades away.

It's warm down here, on the southern half of Terca Lumireis, even though it's only just started to be spring, and the orange streaks in the sky only bring a pleasant breeze with them, cooling a little of the sweat on his skin.

Yuri's not sure if he wants to shut his eyes and fall asleep out there in the grass, or rock the weight of his body onto his shoulders and jump to his feet. See if they can't find some enormous monster, or pack of monsters, to take on together. His heart is hammering, but at the same time...

Who knew you could feel so peaceful while also feeling so... revved up? ]

[ (The part where they've both been sweating off their scent-blocker hasn't really occurred to him yet.) (Sure, Flynn was gorgeous during, but there were so many other things going on in the heat of the moment, and—)

(—well, he's always been obnoxiously good-looking, going back at least as long as Yuri's been old enough to notice or care about that sort of thing, and he's very sure anyone else would think the same. It's not what was noteworthy about the fight, even if it was definitely a very pretty show. Too bad there was no one else watching to enjoy it...) ]

[ (~~He doesn't really mind that there was no one else watching, though.~~ ~~As much as Flynn should find himself a good mate, as much as Yuri wants that for him someday, he's... he doesn't know. Not ready for it, maybe.~~) ]

[ ...Going up on his elbows, though he keeps his gaze on the sunsetting sky. His heartbeat's still rapid, but restless is starting to win out over peaceful. ~~Or maybe he'd just. Like a distraction. For reasons,~~ ]

It's nice here, [ even smells nice, like wildflowers, ] but I bet we wouldn't have to go very far to find something worth fighting. If you're up for it?

[ Part tease, part challenge. It wouldn't be the same kind of fight, but charging that sea of monsters with Flynn and Repede had been pretty damn wonderful, too, and he can't imagine Repede wouldn't wanna tag along after they made him sit out this dance. ]

[They had fought like this tens of hundreds of times, probably. It was a special pastime of theirs as much as it was something that just came naturally out of their relationship. But it had been quite some time since he had been on the soundly defeated side of the results. Yet all he could do was laugh breathlessly. There was no holding back-- he'd given it his all, as he always did. He didn't hold back on Yuri, no matter how many times they fought or how many times he thrashed him. Yuri was someone who became stronger every time he came up against something he couldn't overcome. This in and of itself was proof of that and it was something he greatly admired about him.

He'd watched Yuri closely during their fight. His moves were fluid and graceful... but they had just as much strength behind them as they did beauty. This was far from the first he'd taken note of Yuri's style, but it was perhaps the most he's ever been captivated by it.

Seeing as he'd been avoiding this risk for a very long time, he wasn't prepared to recognize it now that it was happening. Flynn wasn't a fool. He knew those feelings have been there for quite some time. How to approach them was another matter entirely, when the person who had become the center of your world was your dearest friend and a troublesome "criminal" with a long history. In the end he realized... overthinking it did nothing. They were just them. The rest of it didn't matter. At least it didn't to him. He wasn't sure what Yuri would think if he knew.

Lying back on the grass, the touch of the ground was cool but it was well outmatched by just how warm he felt on the inside. He had given his everything in that fight and it was pretty obvious from the way he let himself sprawl out there, rather than pulling himself together as he normally would. He didn't get up when Yuri gets up on his elbows, but he turns his head to look at him with an exasperated smile; laughing in spite of the part of him that said he should be tired.]

You win one time and suddenly fighting me isn't enough to satisfy you.

[His tone is unmistakably a fond one, however, perhaps even more than it is teasing and judgmental.]

[ A very amused noise, but there's still the slightest pause before he turns a smirk on Flynn. Some hesitation. Eye contact is — risky somehow in this moment. The breeze catches his hair, and so does the light, playing through it prettily. ]

What, like one round was enough for you? Don't give me that.

[ He used to think the way he gets after a good hard fight was normal, that the other cadets who didn't have his boundless reserves of Battle Energy were just whiners, but the party has thoroughly disabused him of that notion.

It definitely used to be a trait they shared, much to what he now knows was the genuine aggravation and sometimes awe of their peers.

Yuri's easy smirk, his body language as he slides in closer, says he's confident that hasn't changed, hasn't been a causality of the years they've spent apart.

Internally? Shifting his weight to rest his hand on the grass beside Flynn's shoulder feels an awful lot like going out on a real limb. Hoping it won't snap beneath his weight. ]

[He grins wryly at Yuri. He has no right to look so comfortable and yet-- the sight puts Flynn's heart at ease. They've been at odds for so long despite him wishing it could be any other way, yet given the space it really was like nothing had changed.]

Don't assume one round with you is like anything else.

[Because it's not. Never has been, but increasingly so these days. It takes a lot out of him in a lot more ways than one-- both in ways that are thrilling and ones that feel exceedingly dangerous. It's the latter that often leads him to play it cool and try to push down that aspect of him. Because he certainly feels like if he lets it loose, he doesn't know if he could really stop himself.

Like the way he can practically feel Yuri's hand taking up the space so close to him, itching to close the space and feel the warmth he knows is there.

It's obvious he's far from done. In reality, he sits up much more easily thanks to the few moments he gave himself to recover his breathing. Sure his body still aches and he can feel it pulsing through his body but that feels secondary to... a lot of things, and it's easily suppressed to make it look effortless.]

[ The branch holds, and Yuri relaxes a hair, but also wow that's an unfair thing to say, knocks the wind right out of him. He can feel his eyes widening, his mouth falling ever so slightly open — but before he can think of anything to say, Flynn's sitting up, and he... has to sit back again breathlessly. What finally comes out is more honest than funny. ]

Think I'm flattered.

[ ...It does look easy, but Yuri's bruised and aching too, and Flynn went down first, so. He admires that, but for once with the tiniest bit of skepticism. Human after all?

Retrieving his sword, he unsheathes it — and plunges the blade into the soft earth between them. Guardian Field!

(Not all that much healing, but if he's honest he doesn't want more right now anyway.) ]

[ a/b/o fluri AU ]

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