AGAINST THE RULES: their scentless omega-Chapter 56: Can I kiss you?

"Ethan?" Lucian said calmly, forcing steadiness into his voice even though his pulse was already racing.

"Leave." Ethan bit the word out harshly, jaw tight, breath uneven.

Lucian’s breath hitched. His heart pounded so hard it felt like it was pressing against his ribs, his muscles weakening under the dense cloud of pheromones filling the room. The air was heavy, intoxicating, almost dizzying. "Ethan, stop it..." he whispered, trying to pull his wrist back, but Ethan’s grip only tightened, fingers digging in as if letting go would send him falling into something worse.

He’s so strong Lucian thought

"Why?" Ethan’s voice was low, rough around the edges. "Why are you here?"

"Because... because today is the Reagents and you didn’t come. I was worried." The confession slipped out before Lucian could filter it, honest and bare.

"Worried...?" Ethan let out a shaky, humorless breath. His eyes, glassy and unfocused moments ago, sharpened with something wild. "You were worried about me?" His grip shifted, his leg sliding between Lucian’s thighs, trapping him in place without outright hurting him. "You should be worried about yourself."

Lucian stiffened. "Ethan—"

"Are you afraid of me now, Lucian?" Ethan murmured. His hand rose slowly, fingers brushing against Lucian’s throat, feeling the frantic pulse there. The touch wasn’t violent, but it wasn’t gentle either, uncertain, trembling, driven more by inner turmoil than intent. "Tell me... did you come to see me suffer?"

Lucian froze. The question cut deeper than the grip. He swallowed hard, realizing Ethan’s gaze wasn’t truly seeing him, only the storm in his own head. The rut, the suppressants, the exhaustion... it had all tangled together.

Does he really think that I hate him that much to the point of seeing him suffer?

"Ethan, please," Lucian said, voice soft but firm despite the pressure in the room. "Hear my voice. Snap out of it...this isn’t you..... Ethan." When there was no response, his voice rose, sharper, louder. "ETHAN!"

The name struck like a bell through the haze.

Ethan’s eyes flickered. The wildness wavered, confusion surfacing. His breathing slowed just a fraction, enough for clarity to seep back in. He blinked, really looking at Lucian now seeing his face, the concern, the closeness.

Ethan sucked in a shaky breath and loosened his hold. "I’m... I’m sorry," he whispered, voice cracking. "I didn’t mean to, I tried to hurt you."

"It’s... it’s okay," Lucian replied quickly, though his heart was still hammering. "I know you wouldn’t hurt me intentionally." The words came naturally, without hesitation, and that alone startled him.

Then he noticed Ethan’s eyes glossing over. Tears gathered at the corners, slipping free before Ethan could stop them. One drop fell, warm against Lucian’s cheek. Another followed, tracing a quiet line down the side of his face.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

The room that had felt suffocating seconds ago grew still, the tension melting into something fragile and painfully human. Ethan’s hand, once tight with agitation, now trembled lightly where it rested against the mattress. Lucian could feel the shift, he storm inside him settling, leaving behind only exhaustion and guilt.

And beneath all of it, unspoken but undeniable, was the realization that despite the distance, the arguments, and the breakup... the bond between them had never fully loosened.

"I’m such a fool..." Ethan muttered, voice hoarse, the words scraping out of him like they hurt to admit.

"Ethan—"

"You deserved better, Lucian."

He pushed himself off him abruptly, as if the closeness had burned him. His back hit the wall beside the bed and he slid a hand through his hair, breathing in deep, uneven pulls, trying to steady the storm clawing through his body. The rut still lingered, heavy in the air, but now it was mixed with shame instead of hunger.

"You’re in a rut," Lucian said quietly, sitting up and straightening his sleeve. "Why didn’t you call an omega to help you out?"

Ethan let out a bitter laugh, the sound hollow. "I hate the kind of expression I left on you. Even now , i hate that version of me in you" He didn’t look at him. His gaze stayed fixed somewhere on the floor, jaw tight. "And... I’m not that ’Ethan’ anymore. Someone taught me that pride and being a playboy doesn’t take you anywhere. It just leaves you empty, i wish i realised it sooner before losing everything "

Lucian fell silent for a moment, watching the rise and fall of Ethan’s shoulders. The room no longer felt threatening just heavy with things neither of them had ever properly said.

"Are you not coming to the Reagents?" Lucian finally asked.

Ethan exhaled slowly. "I made a decision. I quit."

"Why?"

A pause. Then a shrug that didn’t convince anyone. "Because I no longer feel like it."

"Stop lying," Lucian said, his voice firmer than before. He stood now, closing the small distance between them. "You remember? What you told me a long time ago. When I asked you why you wanted to race?"

Ethan’s eyes flickered, just for a second. "Like I said... I changed, Lucian. I don’t have that feeling anymore."

Lucian inhaled, then recited softly, word for word, "’Why I wanna race? Easy. Because it makes me look cool. It makes me feel like I could accomplish something for myself. I like the power and the endless limits it gives me... so I’ll ride until I reach tomorrow.’"

Ethan’s head snapped up. Shock flashed across his face, raw, unguarded. Of all the things he expected Lucian to remember, it wasn’t that. Not the careless bragging, not the stupid grin he’d had when he said it. It was a long time ago and yet?....Yet Lucian held those words like they had weight.

Lucian’s chest tightened. That feeling I always felt whenever he raced... that was the reason I joined the Reagents in the first place. It had never been about the competition alone. It had been about standing beside that reckless determination, that forward-driving fire Ethan carried so naturally.

Before Lucian could say anything else, Ethan stepped forward and pulled him into an embrace.

It wasn’t forceful this time. It was hesitant, almost fragile. "Can you... stay like this for a minute?" Ethan asked, voice unsteady, barely above a whisper. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

His arms tightened slowly, as if waiting for rejection that never came. He inhaled, catching Lucian’s scent, grounding himself in something familiar and real. The trembling in his shoulders eased just a fraction.

Then Ethan’s eyes widened slightly when he felt it, Lucian’s arm lifting, wrapping around his back in return.

Lucian hadn’t planned to do it. His body moved before his mind could argue. The warmth between them was quiet, steady, nothing like the earlier chaos. Just two heartbeats trying to find a rhythm that once came easily.

He always gave me the adrenaline to push forward, Lucian thought, resting his chin lightly against Ethan’s shoulder. Not just on the track... but everywhere else too.

In that stillness, with the world outside the apartment continuing unaware, the noise of rivalry, pride, and misunderstandings dulled. What remained was simple and terrifying at the same time—

the realization that even after distance and anger, they were still each other’s momentum.

Ethan slowly pulled back from the embrace, though his hands lingered on Lucian’s arms as if he wasn’t entirely ready to let go. He searched Lucian’s face for a long second, eyes softer now, stripped of the earlier haze and desperation. Then one of his hands lifted, hesitant, and came to rest against Lucian’s cheek. His thumb brushed lightly against the skin, warm and trembling.

"Can I... can I have permission to kiss you right now?" he asked, the confidence he usually wore nowhere to be found.

Lucian’s eyes widened. The question alone made his heartbeat stumble, a flutter rising in his chest that he couldn’t suppress no matter how much he tried to stay composed. "It’s ok to refuse, i wont force you to something you’re not comfortable with " he continued. Lucian paused, no one had ever asked him like that before so careful, so unsure. His throat felt dry, but he managed a small, slow nod.

Ethan released a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. The tension in his shoulders eased, and the air between them seemed to shift, no longer sharp but warm, almost fragile. He leaned in gradually, giving Lucian enough time to pull away if he wanted to. Lucian didn’t.

Their lips met in a gentle, unhurried kiss, more a promise than a demand. It wasn’t rushed or desperate like before; it was careful, almost reverent, as if both of them were afraid that moving too fast would shatter the moment. Lucian’s fingers curled slightly into the fabric of Ethan’s shirt, steadying himself as the world outside the room faded into silence.

When they finally parted, their foreheads hovered close, breaths mingling. Nothing dramatic was said, no grand declarations. But in the quiet that followed, the distance that had stretched painfully between them for so long felt, at least for that moment, smaller, like a gap that could finally be crossed instead of endured. Ethan closed the distance again for another kiss